Midnight Mass
Social media is absolutely buzzing about Mike Flanagan’s latest offering Midnight Mass currently streaming on Netflix. I’ll admit, before it was available for viewing, I did not look too much into it so I went in pretty blind. All I knew was that I loved loved loved The Haunting of Hill House and had thoroughly enjoyed The Haunting of Bly Manor and of course Hush. I guess you can say at this point I am a Mike Flanagan fan and will certainly take a look at anything with his name attached. And boy was I not disappointed.
I was a little nervous during the first episode. It really seemed to drag and was overly wordy. I’m a New Yorker, I typically have zero patience unless I know there is a great payoff coming. However, twitter was singing the show’s praises and I relied on my faith in Mike Flanagan to keep going and I am so glad I did. I was invested by the end of the second episode and got completely on board. Yes, the pace is slow. And yes, there are lots of monologues, but that is what made this series shine.
I am the type of obsessive viewer that needs to hear every line and watch every frame. I cannot sit and look at my phone while watching a movie. I need to be completely in there and that is how Midnight Mass needs to be viewed if you ask me. The storytelling is lavish and rich. The writing is superb. I found myself nearly in tears a few times when the characters were discussing death and dying. Throughout the show you get the life after death philosophy of atheists, Catholics and New Agists; and all three schools of thought proved to be profoundly moving.
The cast was brilliant. Amazing Emmy-winning performances all round. Hamish Linklater as Father Paul was transcendent. What a charismatic and misguided leader he was. Samantha Sloyan as Beverly Keane delivered a tour de force! What a masterfully executed villain. I loved and hated her in the same breath because she was so horribly self-righteous while being absolutely fierce! Kate Siegel is one of my favorite newer talents in the genre and like her husband Mike Flanagan, I will surely check out whatever she has to offer. Rahul Kohli as Sheriff Hassan shined in his role and delivered a heartfelt performance as a Muslim struggling to fit into the very Catholic and somewhat closed-minded community of Crockett Island. Annabeth Gish rocked it as Dr. Sarah Gunning. I was thrilled to see her in a role that was the virtual antithesis of who she played in Hill House. And then there is Zach Gilford as Riley Flynn. He delivered such a heartbreaking and wonderful performance. You felt his guilt and his hopelessness with every word and action. His eyes conveyed everything. His scenes with Linklater and Siegel are literally what make the series.
Midnight Mass delivers on a lot of levels. I was genuinely creeped out when we found out who was stalking the residents of Crockett Island and who was helping them along. I loved how the show put a mirror up to how zealots twist Scripture to suit their own agendas and how corruptible even the purest of hearts can become. It was such a good watch and I highly encourage everyone to check this out!