Mr. Midnight: Beware the Monsters

Definitely one for young teens and those young at heart! My 12 yr old and I thought we'd give it a go and ended up bingeing it over 3 days. We had no previous knowledge of the book series it's adapted from, and were able to go into it with no expectations and open to anything.

We loved the way each Mr Midnight episode had a short story, while there was an overarching storyline across the whole season. The effects were well done, definitely a little cheesy at times (spaghetti anyone?!), but everything about it left us wanting more.

Mr Midnight is well written, with humour dotted throughout, relatable characters, and the Singaporean location and cultural aspects were really interesting.

I would highly recommend Mr Midnight - a lighthearted, supernatural, fun series!

While it has it's slightly cringeworthy and cheesy moments, it is a very fun watch! The concept of teens hunting monsters and other supernatural beings is far from new, but this show places a unique spin on it! With likeable characters with realistic storylines and responses to the situations they find themselves in, Mr Midnight portrays a relatable character experience.

Personally, I really loved learning about the different cultural elements of Singapore, especially the different mythology stories. I also liked how each episode contained and almost standalone story, so that you could almost watch any episode and be able to understand it.

I definitely recommend giving this show a try, it is the perfect show to lightheartedly binge watch to relax!

I'm not too familiar with Singapore as I've only visited briefly on a layover but the whole corruption and poor infrastructure portrayed in the streets doesn't seem to ring true in not only one of the smallest countries in the world, but one that is also the most developed country in south-east Asia that have rigid rules and laws on social and environmental development.

I think the cheesy dialogue makes sense because from what I understand it's based on a popular children's book series so it definitely fit the intended audience, kids and young teenagers. However, the acting is terrible, especially from Caleb Monk. All he does is suppressing his own laughter, he smiles at the most random moments and it really makes him come off as a major creep from episode 1. The main character (Idan Aedan) is also pretty terrible but definitely not even close as bad.

The props and special effects makeup is really enjoyable and one of the best parts of the show. Love that they are using more traditional means to bring the spirits and monsters to life. Really enjoy that the monsters from many different traditions and cultures are portrayed but it'd be great if they addressed more where they originate from. I also think the story is overall great but I think the poor choice of actors and that sometimes the context gets lost in the rest of plot it takes away so much from the storyline.

This series is quite honestly painful to watch if you're over the age of 10 and have seen any good film/ series and for many people around the age of ten are still scared of some of the spirits with in the movie.

Personally I'm more terrified of the terrible acting, writing and animation than anything. The writing is terrible, there are a handful of conversations and interactions which aren't cheesy/ cringey or overly forcing and emphasizing their point. There's a plot twist or false cliff hanger every other episode and you couldn't predict in anyway what it would lead to with very minimal foreshadowing which is mostly overwhelmed by the terrible acting.

Not all the actors are terrible, and heck maybe it's the director's fault who told them to act obvious and make every gesture and nuance blown out of proportion by a factor of thirty. All though personally the performance given off by Idan Aedan, Chen Yixing and Yu-Beng Lim was the best all round, all though all seemed over exaggerated at times.

The animation is equally painful to see with some of the spirits and monsters seeming more like play-do at 12K and really zoomed in rather than actual living things.

BUT, if you're looking for something that the whole family can watch and relatively enjoy whilst relatively entertaining for all audiences than this wouldn't do a terrible job. All though being up against other Netflix original shows such as Dragon prince which are much better written and are much more enjoyable.

The cinematography wasn't excellent but it was also good enough to get by and at times carried the show through, and all though not something that I'm usually very good at spotting the wardrobe, backdrop and props where great especially given the low quality of everything else.

Personally, I wouldn't recommend this to anyone who isn't dying for a cringey, Halloween series that doesn't take itself too seriously and is 7+. Any other demographic would struggle to enjoy this series through all it's 13 episodes.

It's family horror series that's reminiscent of Goosebumps, except the monsters are drawn from the folklore/horror traditions of southeast Asia. Unlike some comparable family/YA Nextflix series like The Irregulars or Dead Boy Detectives, which are tonally and thematically all over the place, this show is reasonably wholesome and it's charming in its consistent simplicity. The mysteries, monsters and intrigue are on the level of Scooby Doo and production values aren't much better. But the young main cast and a few supporting adults are affable and the show's brisk pace helps to keep the proceedings engaging.