WARNING - SPOILERS AHEAD
In the showbiz world of horror crammed with human sufferings, gore, and disgust, Mike Flanagan sets his bar a notch higher, or should we say, lower... towards the ground. That's right folks, it seems Flanagan has an unsettling pastime of 'raining cats' but not dogs. Spoiler alert! Countless cats face untimely demises across his Netflix horror show portfolio, a purr-turbing trend that's frustrating cat-lovers everywhere.
Shrieking from terror while watching Flanagan's bone-chilling narratives is conventional, but shedding tears for fictional cats has become an unanticipated emotional rollercoaster. His obsession with feline fatalities began in The Haunting of Hill House where a troupe of newborn kittens met their doom, smashing our hearts into tiny pieces.
In the vampiric lore of Midnight Mass, Flanagan advances from mere animal carnage to a full-fledged blood-fest including a feline feast. (Though one might argue that this shows Flanagan cares about equality... in morbid, blood-sucking affairs).
It could be attributed to a coincidental feline casualty, till I was hit by the revelation in The Fall of House of Usher! There it was, another fur-ball felon murdered, making me question Flanagan's feathered fondness. Poor Pluto, the black cat owned by the show's character Leo Usher meets a tragic end, followed by his replacement suffering abuse.
Here, I must admit, pinning all blame on Flanagan might be somewhat unfair. The House of Usher plot follows Edgar Allan Poe's original story quite religiously, where a cat does not fare well either.
As a fervent fan of Flanagan's craft, I jest about his hobby of facilitating kitty catastrophes. Flanagan himself has been a good sport, addressing the catty concerns by his fans. He once tweeted, "Lotta things get killed in Midnight Mass besides cats... Lotta things...”.
He has also sported a humorous stand on being accused of having issues with cats, or as the previous rumor goes - hands. Flanagan's characters seem to have frequent encounters with hand injuries, stomped fingers etc., making fans speculate if he had a score to settle with diddies. Well, our beloved show-maker has shocks and scares in his arsenal of storytelling and apparently, no body part (or creature) is safe from his grasp.
While Flanagan's knack for creating acclaimed horrors is undeniable, his fondness for causing grim ends for cats (and human body parts) is peculiar, to say the least. To all those leaping into his world of horror, remember to brace yourselves for more than jumpscares and ghostly apparitions - because Flanagan's world is grave for cats, and possibly, all creatures that walk the earth.
So, here's to the countless cats who've met their cinematic end in Flanagan's universe. Your untimely departures might have come too soon, but at least you've landed on your paws in cat heaven, far away from Flanagan's love for feline fatality. Access more of Flanagan's horror from Netflix - but remember, you've been warned about the cats!
Additionally, if cat death isn't exactly your cup of tea, fret not, Plenty of other intriguing, less feline-fatal shows reside within the vast world of Netflix.
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