Netflix’s Midnight Mass is a brilliant limited series thriller/horror combination that is unafraid to touch on religious faith and doubt.
Midnight Mass is the third Netflix series to come out of the brilliant mind of Mike Flanagan and if you were a fan of The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor, you will not be disappointed with it. That said, even if you know nothing about those two (please go watch them) but you enjoy a good horror series mixed with a bit of psychological thriller, Midnight Mass is for you.
This show is pure genius from beginning to end. The final shot of episode one will hook you, if you weren’t hooked already, and it will just snowball from there. As the dark and twisted plot unfolds and things get creepier and creepier, your heart will be pounding, you will have goose bumps, and you will be doing everything you can to try to piece it all together — but spoiler alert, you probably won’t figure out all the details until they are revealed to you.
Midnight Mass is about a young charismatic priest who comes to a small island town to replace their ill priest. He brings with him miracles, as well as mysteries, and seeks to revive the religious faith in the people who live there. Slowly but surely the church starts to fill to capacity every day, but there is a dark secret lurking. Are these miracles an act of God, or something all together different?
The best part about Midnight Mass is that it is unafraid to dive into the world of religion. Reasons for belief, for non-belief, and even different forms of religion are explored. Also blind faith in God to do things that feel completely out of character and downright insane. That isn’t to say religion is explored in a negative way in this series, but it does touch on the good and the bad. It is more about human nature than the word of the bible though, which is why it works so well.
If religion is something that makes you feel uneasy, just wait until you allow yourself to get into Midnight Mass. This series is incredible, and touches on so many things a lot of people think about when it comes to church, priests, and bible verses.
Underlying Messages
Speaking of religion, Rahul Kohli, who plays Sheriff Hassan, delivers a monologue in episode 6 about it that had me in tears. He talks about how being Muslim has shaped his life and if you can get through that scene without your heart breaking, I don’t think you have one.
Midnight Mass isn’t just about religion though, there are a lot of underlying lessons about judging others, addiction, family, loss, and love. Some of the conversations had focus on extremely heavy subject matters. Mike Flanagan is brilliant in that he is able to weave this in and not allow them to take away from the intense, heart pounding moments that make Midnight Mass a horror/thriller.
Phenomenal Cast
The entire cast of Midnight Mass brings something to the table, which is hard to pull off when you have one as large as this. Each and every character, no matter how small, has their moment to shine. Of course, some are more important to the story than others, but they all serve a purpose. Sometimes with an ensemble cast the story can get lost or muddled as each of their stories vie for the attention and try to get fleshed out.
As fans of Hill House and Bly Manor will know though, this is one of Flanagan’s talents. He makes every character feel important and gives them each their moment in the sun. In Midnight Mass they all have such an amazing chemistry — whether they hate each other, love each other, or have no feelings either way toward one another. All are fantastic, but the standouts and Hamish Linklater (Father Paul), Rahul Kohli (Sheriff Hassan), Samantha Sloyan (Bev Keane), and newcomer Annarah Shephard (Leeza).
Thriller/Horror Combination
The visuals in this series, especially in the final episode, really bring home the thriller and horror combination that I think Flanagan was going for. While yes, there are some really important lessons to be learned in this story, it is in fact, a horror with a bit of thriller in it. There are jump scares, bloody deaths, and a whole lot of edge of your seat intense moments.
Midnight Mass has some serious Stephen King vibes that come through in several different episodes. Just stick this story in Maine and it feels like something he could have written — which is the biggest compliment a horror fan can give.
There are moments of this show that are absolutely terrifying. I am talking hide behind your hands, turn all the lights on in the house, terrifying. Even though some parts feel so far fetched, some other parts are so believable that you might think for a second this could actually happen.
Several people asked if there are some cult aspects to this series and while yes, there are, they aren’t as intense as you might think. There is one scene in particular where the feeling is there, but the story itself is so much more than that. So if cults (rightfully) creep you out, don’t worry, Midnight Mass doesn’t dwell on that part of it.
Overall Thoughts
It is very hard to talk about this series in detail without giving spoilers, and trust me when I say this is one you want to go into without knowing a thing. There are twists and turns, shocking surprises, and moments that will literally give you chills.
The final scene is pure perfection that can bring even the most cold hearted person to tears. The visuals are stunning and it might sound crazy to say they are beautiful when you think about what is happening but they are. That last line spoken, well, that will stick with you long after watching.
Let me leave you with this, Midnight Mass is something everyone should experience, no matter where they fall on the religious spectrum. There are many underlying messages here and this series is not here to bash religion, trust me. It is here to dive into human nature, doubts, beliefs, addiction, love, loss, and family.
An intense, heart pounding, bone chilling story that perfectly weaves thriller and horror together while exploring human nature.
Midnight Mass Review
From The Haunting of Hill House creator Mike Flanagan, MIDNIGHT MASS tells the tale of a small, isolated island community whose existing divisions are amplified by the return of a disgraced young man (Zach Gilford) and the arrival of a charismatic priest (Hamish Linklater).
When Father Paul’s appearance on Crockett Island coincides with unexplained and seemingly miraculous events, a renewed religious fervor takes hold of the community – but do these miracles come at a price?
Created and directed by Flanagan, the seven episode limited series also stars Kate Siegel, Rahul Abburi, Crystal Balint, Matt Biedel, Alex Essoe, Annarah Cymone, Annabeth Gish, Rahul Kohli, Kristin Lehman, Robert Longstreet, Igby Rigney, Samantha Sloyan, Henry Thomas, and Michael Trucco. The series is executive produced by Flanagan and Trevor Macy for Intrepid Pictures.
Midnight Mass hits Netflix on September 24th.
Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. On Camera personality and TV / Film Critic with 10+ years of experience in video editing, writing, editing, moderating, and hosting.