Mike Flanagan, the brilliant mind behind Netflix’s “Haunting of Hill House,” Doctor Sleep, and Geralds’s Game, is back with his latest genre offering, the Netflix series “Midnight Mass.”
WARNING SPOILERS!
Now, if you’re expecting something haunting like “Haunting of Hill Houe,” you’ll be sorely disappointed. “Midnight Mass” is a whole different monster entirely. Instead of dark paranormal horror, we get religious horror.
The series centers on an isolated island community that experiences miraculous events – and frightening omens – after a charismatic, mysterious young priest arrives.
Religion is the main topic throughout the series, and there’s a fine line between too much and just enough. The constant preaching and non-stop bible quotes overshadowed the story and the horror we were promised. The tale of the characters and their struggles take a back seat to the hours of religious idealogy and sermons, which annoyed me. Don’t get me wrong, I’m okay with religion, but it felt like “Midnight Mass” was trying to shove it down my throat.
I’ll give “Midnight Mass” credit on one thing: the twist on the vampire legend was unique and interesting; instead of your classic vampire, we get a monster mistaken for an angel by a priest who is desperate for some salvation. The creature resembles the vampires of legend with giant bat-like wings and blood-thirsty ways. How it could be mistaken for an angel by a priest, I don’t know. But I guess delusional people see what they need to.
First off, the main characters of Riley (Zach Gilford and Erin (Kate Siegal) were excellent in their roles and delivered so much emotion. However, Riley decided at the end that left me scratching my head. As for Father Paul (Hamish Linklater), he did a fantastic job of portraying a desperate man who believes he has found a true miracle. Still, his willingness to make life-and-death decisions for the island is disturbing.
The series has no problem spilling blood in ruthless ways. It’s packed with action and twists that will keep you on your toes but simultaneously is a bit predictable. When Riley tells Erin about his dreams at the beginning of the series, it goes beyond foreshadowing and is just plain obvious.
I’ll be honest with you: the series left me a bit disappointed, not because of the characters but because of the minister’s drive over seven episodes to turn his congregation, only to decide he made a mistake moments after the job is done and goes off to die in the sun. After all the death and suffering, this is how it ends. Really? All of the pain and death of the island’s residents was for NOTHING! Well, at least I saw the utterly obnoxious assistant Bev die; there’s that. If I could have reached through my tv and slapped this chick, I would have. Talk about an unlikeable character! Her holier-than-thou attitude and snarkiness were just too much. I cheered as she got her just desserts.
One of the most terrifying aspects of the series is how it shines a light on how people in power can do scary things; take Jim Jones and the People’s Temple or David Koresh, for example. Jim Jones convinced over 900 people to “drink the Kool-Aid” and commit suicide and murder by manipulating them and twisting religion. They believed God chose them and knew what was suitable for their people, just like Father Paul, and look what happened.
The bottom line is if you don’t mind feeling like you’re sitting through sermon after sermon, “Midnight Mass” is pretty good. I wish the religious aspects weren’t so heavy and that the main characters didn’t make such bone-headed decisions, but overall, it’s not an evil series. You can watch it now on Netflix.
