Netflix’s Midnight Mass: Not Your Traditional Horror Flick

Mike Flanagan’s Midnight Mass is rich in overt symbolism and interconnected themes.

Warning…

This review contains mild spoilers for Netflix’s Midnight Mass.

The arrival of a charismatic priest brings miracles, mysteries, and renewed religious fervor to a dying town.

That’s the official synopsis for the show. Now let’s hear mine.

Delusional Priest brings Nosferatu to town, convinces gullible congregation that it’s an Angel of God while performing questionable miracles.

When you hear the name Mike Flanagan, you think horror movies, and not just any run-of-the-mill horror stories – horror with heart. The kind with a heartwarming, tragic story behind it. Mike Flanagan is responsible for The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, Hush, Dr. Sleep, Ouija: Origin of Evil, The Fall of the House of Usher, and now, Midnight Mass.

The Haunting of Hill House was one of the most-binged Netflix shows of 2018, making it arguably Flanagan’s most successful project. Both The Haunting of Hill House and Bly Manor remain my favorite series from the director. While they’re both tragic horror stories, they’re also more than that. In the case of Bly Manor, it’s more of a love story sprinkled with a little horror here and there.

Let’s get back to Midnight Mass now, shall we?

The show takes place in a tiny, rundown fishing island called Crockett Island, with a handful of townspeople. It’s no surprise that no one wants to live there – the town is on the verge of dying. 70 percent of the series’ runtime takes place at the decrepit church, St. Patrick, seeing as almost everyone in the town is Catholic.

The Storyline

Midnight Mass begins with the arrival of Riley Flynn, the island’s prodigal son, who left in search of greener pastures, and a charismatic new Priest – Father Paul. Riley just got released from prison after a drunk-driving accident claimed the life of a young woman. With nothing left for him in the city, Riley heads back to his hometown to live with his parents and younger brother, Warren.

His parents are your typical everyday, mass-going Catholics, while Warren is an altar boy.

Riley’s time in prison turned him from an altar boy into an atheist who only attends Mass to make his mother happy. Fr. Paul, on the other hand, came to Crockett Island to replace the old priest, Monsignor Pruitt, and save the town. Riley is the antithesis of Fr. Paul.

While Riley and Fr. Paul are the center of the show, several other notable characters round off the cast.

There’s Erin, who’s played by Kate Siegel (The Haunting of Hill House and Bly Manor Alum). She’s Riley’s childhood sweetheart and close friend. Like Riley, Erin left Crockett Island after High School but came back after things didn’t turn out the way she planned. Erin, who was previously the unbeliever to Riley’s altar boy, has a newfound faith and purpose.

Let’s be honest, I gave this show a chance because of Kate Siegel. I love her work. I probably wouldn’t have bothered if she weren’t in it.

We also have the new sheriff, Hassan, and his son, Ali, who are the town’s only Muslim characters. There’s the town’s Mayor, Wade Scarborough, his wife, Dolly, and his daughter, Leeza.

Leeza is a devout catholic who uses a wheelchair after an accident left her paralyzed. She’s also one of the show’s truly decent characters. There’s also Sarah Gunning, the local doctor, who’s only stayed in town this long to care for her ailing mother. She believes more in science than religion to explain the strange happenings in town.

And finally, we have Bev Keane. Crockett Island’s resident self-righteous fanatic/fangirl who’d gladly go down any dark path in the name of God’s will. Bev Keane is also a Karen.

Characters like Bev scare me, and unfortunately, we seem to have a lot of them in real life.

My Thoughts and Opinions

While watching this show, I kept asking myself, “Hasn’t anyone in this tiny town ever heard of vampires?” It was beyond ridiculous, to say the least. Unless in Mike Flanagan’s universe, vampires don’t exist. That’s rather convenient, isn’t it?

One thing also became clear to me – when it comes to religion, some people would believe anything.

I was initially excited when I saw the trailer for Midnight Mass. It had so much potential, especially after enjoying The Haunting of Hill House and Bly Manor. Sad to say, I was disappointed and slightly angry after the finale.

I came in expecting to find demons (we did get one, but it wasn’t the kind you’d expect), exorcism, witchcraft, maybe demon possession?

You know, the kind you’d get in your typical Catholic horror movie.

Unfortunately, I got none of that.

What I did get was an existential crisis, self-righteousness, and the most detestable character since Ramsey Bolton (GOT).

Midnight Mass was often too preachy and had unnecessarily long monologues. Characters would randomly quote specific passages of the Bible to justify whatever horrible act they’re about to commit. This was especially the case with Bev Keane.

Bev could stab a homeless guy in the eye (she didn’t actually do that) and convince the congregation that God told her to – and they’d all believe her! She was always equipped with a weaponized scripture verse for every single occasion.

Some people might call that faith, but I call that fanaticism with a capital F.

Mike Flanagan’s Midnight Mass is rich in overt symbolism and interconnected themes. The director toyed with the darker side of religious scripture, often linking things like drinking blood (communion) and resurrection to a different mythology. It also makes sense that the show took place during Lent and Easter, since that’s when Christ was resurrected.

However, the only thing horrifying about Midnight Mass was the thin line between faith and fanaticism.

I’d rate Midnight Mass a 3/5, only because of the actors. They were quite good in their respective roles, and without them, the show would have been unbearable to watch.