Midnight Mass

Midnight Mass review: A deeply affecting tale of faith gone wrong

As an allegory, Midnight Mass doesn’t have anything particularly groundbreaking to say about religion as an opiate of the masses. That’s okay; the power here lies in the profoundly human struggles faced by the faithful and the doubting Thomases in Father Paul’s flock. Beyond the jump scares and the suspense and the looming dread, Midnight Mass summons a message of hope: Sometimes it’s okay to be your own savior. Read full review…

Midnight Mass Review

Even though I’m a huge fan, I can admit that his themes and concepts sometimes overwhelm his plotting. He’s prone to tangents that don’t serve the greater purpose and has a habit of underlining his ideas instead of trusting readers to unpack them. And yet he’s still such a consistently entertaining craftsman (strongly recommend his recent Later and Billy Summers, two of his better late-career offerings, by the way) that fans can easily forgive his tendency for abundance and overcooking. Perhaps the greatest compliment I can pay Flanagan and “Midnight Mass” is that all of those feelings I’ve had about King’s work over the last four decades consistently hold true for him too. While I can see the flaws in this overheated homily, there’s nothing that’s going to stop me from coming back to the Church of Flanagan the next time that the doors open. Read full review…

Midnight Mass Review

Linklater is absorbing as Father Hill, the enigmatic miracle-worker who announces himself as a surprise stand-in for the ancient and infirm town priest, last seen embarking on a Holy Land pilgrimage. It’s a tricky role to pull off — all too easy to tilt into ‘creepy’ — but he somehow breathes warmth and relatability into the darkest places. Similarly, Hill House’s Samantha Sloyan takes the spiritually snobbish, town-busybody archetype and manages to dial up the nasty without descending into soap-operatics.

Flanagan also rewards us for our patience during the slower early episodes. Come the final two hours, he really lets rip with the action as horrifically misplaced acts of faith and love bear their diseased fruit. And, to be fair, without its five-hour mystery-weaving build-up, it’s hard to imagine Midnight Mass’ ferocious climax hitting so hard. Read full review…

Midnight Mass review: Another fascinating, if imperfect, horror triumph for Mike Flanagan

I also think it’s worth noting that although there’s undoubtedly a feeling of deep unease across each of the seven episodes – in addition to a handful of jump scares and no shortage of blood and gore – I didn’t find the series quite as terrifying as Bly Manor or Hill House, the latter of which remains my favourite Flanagan series to date. That’s not necessarily a bad thing – just to say that this is a rather different type of horror to the ghost stories that Flanagan has gifted us with in the past.

Anyway, whatever minor shortfalls there might be, Midnight Mass is absolutely a show worth watching. It’s genuinely, thrillingly, unique and certain scenes and moments will live with you long after you’ve finished watching. One thing is for sure – Flanagan remains comfortably one of Netflix’s best assets. Read full review…

Review: ‘Midnight Mass’ Is A Stunning, Emotional Religious Horror Entry That Should Not Be Missed

Midnight Mass showcases a showrunner at the peak of his talents. It’s a wonderful, emotive, evocative series. It balances scares and tragedy in a way that fits with the works of, say, Ari Aster, with deep-seated religious horror that fans of The Exorcist and The Witch will love. Those comparisons aside, the series’ best comparison is with Flanagan’s own The Haunting of Hill House, another masterpiece, but Midnight Mass lands with a little larger world and a much grander set of implications. It’s spectacular, don’t miss it. Read full review…

Netflix’s Midnight Mass: Season 1 Review – Salvation awaits in Mike Flanagan’s harrowing Midnight Mass limited series on Netflix

Mike Flanagan’s Midnight Mass is his best work to date. It’s filled with compelling characters and plenty of frights of both the supernatural and human varieties, but it’s also a deeply personal story. The Netflix limited series effectively wrestles with complex theological questions in an engaging way, even when some of the character interactions run longer than they need to. Along with some captivating scripts, Flanagan also flexes his directorial muscles with some nifty tracking shots that help bring the creepy and isolated community of Crockett Island to captivating life. Read full review…