Midnight Mass - A Review
By: Mallory Johnson
I recently watched Mike Flanagan’s newest Netflix show Midnight Mass and I loved it! It is a seven episode limited series, and it tells the full story in a great way in such a short time. The show is a slow burn supernatural horror with an awesome cast. The show is about an isolated religious island community that experiences miracles and frights after the arrival of a strange young priest. It stars creator Mike Flanagan’s wife Kate Siegel (Hill House, Bly Manor), Zach Gilford (Friday Night Lights, The Last Winter), Samantha Sloyan (Grey’s Anatomy, Hill House), Rahul Kohli (Bly Manor, Supergirl), and more. Before I go any further, SPOILER ALERT. Also, trigger warnings for: death, blood and gore, murder, jump scares, alcoholism, car crash, drinking and driving, animal cruelty, animal death, pet loss, poison, cults, suicide, arson, cannibalism, seizures, miscarriage, self-harm, gaslighting, racism, and gun violence.
The show started slow and not very scary as you get introduced to the setting of the fictional Crockett Island and meet the characters. This made me think that I would not be too scared while watching (as I am not the biggest horror fan), but I was very wrong. The show gradually gets more disturbing, scary, and thought provoking. It focuses a LOT on religion, but do not let this turn you away, the show is great and takes twists that I definitely did not expect. I made connections with The Haunting of Bly Manor and The Haunting of Hill House, who were also created, written, and directed by Mike Flanagan. The acting in this show is phenomenal, and there are a lot of beautiful and emotional monologues throughout the show. I think that it is fun that Mike Flanagan had two cameos in the show (one that I spotted and another one I saw on social media). I loved how there was diversity in the show, with Rahul Kohli’s portrayal of a Muslim man on the very Catholic Crocket Island. Mike dove into his personal experiences to make this show, as he was an altar boy and was an alcoholic. He originally started writing a Midnight Mass book years ago but never finished (fun fact: there is an easter egg about this in his movie Hush with Kate Siegel and Samantha Sloyan). He then tried to get it made as a movie before finally landing on a television show.
Midnight Mass is incomparable to his other projects of his that I have seen (Bly Manor, Hill House, and Gerald’s Game). The show makes you think about religion and how it can go too far very fast. Overall, I highly recommend watching it, and it is a very good weekend binge. I give it a strong 10/10! I am very excited to see more projects from Mike Flanagan!