Midnight Mass (2021)
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Midnight Mass Review
Midnight Mass is a 2021 supernatural horror miniseries directed by Mike Flanagan and released on Netflix. It is such a tremendous story that is powerfully acted and quite sophisticated.
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“The more that we know, the less we bend.
The more brittle we become, the easier we break“
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Watching this series, I honestly thought that it was adapted from a novel or some other source material. The fact that it wasn’t speaks volumes to the immense brilliance of Mike Flanagan as a horror auteur that he definitely has become by now. It’s a very rich tale shrouded in mystery, religious themes and heartbreak.
It is set in a small island community that is isolated from the land and is very religious. However, after an old priest goes away mysteriously and a new, younger one arrives, miracles start to occur and danger lurks within this community with the arrival of a horrific monster. The writing is phenomenal on this show, but even more so the dialogue.
Although some may find the number of monologues overwhelming, I wholeheartedly disagree with that sentiment simply because I love dialogue-driven movies and shows and these monologues actually were deep for the most part and quite thought-provoking. For one, the show’s explanation of what God is was quite powerful even for an atheist such as myself.
The show started off very ambiguously as it portrayed both atheism and Christianity in an unbiased manner. Then, I feared that it would mock religion, but eventually the final speech about God solidified this show as a very modern, tolerant take on all faiths and persuasions.
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Focusing on false prophets in particular, the show portrays just how horrible religion can be when in bad and manipulative hands. Although Bev Keane definitely turned into a true over-the-top monster in the end, she still remains an incredible villain that was all the more scary due to her grounded portrayal at first. Her manipulative tactics and terribly cold demeanor made her presence quite chilling.
Samantha Sloyan is excellent in the role, but it is Hamish Linklater who impressed the most in the complicated role of Father Paul. This man was superbly portrayed in his emotionally fraught behavior and shifting allegiances. The conversations between him and Riley were scene-stealers. Speaking of Riley, he initially starts off as sort of a protagonist and the examination of his faith and lack thereof was powerfully realized.
I did like the other characters, but for the most part only these three struck a chord with others also being very well developed, but not as important to the overall storyline. The vampire twist worked despite at first disappointing me as I’d wished for something else in line with religion, but still the fact that Flanagan made a vampire story and it feels so different from any other genre story needs to be appreciated. He basically reinvented, modernized and grounded the vampire story with this miniseries.
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Midnight Mass is too short at just seven episodes. Admittedly, it’s a miniseries and the episodes are quite long, but the mythology as established here was so strong and most of the characters were so well developed that I wished for a longer length. Some of the pacing issues abound and the ending, although strong, was still somewhat of a disappointment when compared to the rest of the series. Still, the show is very well shot, superbly acted and quite atmospheric and scary in the most real sense possible with real people and dangers coupled with the monster that was strikingly eerie and brutal.
Midnight Mass should have been longer, but what Mike Flanagan did here is incredible as he basically reinvented the vampire story and gave it new life through grounded storytelling and incredibly rich mythology and thematic resonance. The acting is fantastic, the dialogue is sophisticated and the show’s scary in the more real and immediate ways even more so than in its supernatural elements.
Worst Episodes: Book I: Genesis and Book IV: Lamentations.
Best Episodes: Book III: Provence and Book VI: Act of the Apostles.
