Mike Flanagan strikes again with an excellent and well told horror story. Everything he’s put out so far, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the experience. He is a master at creating suspense and keeping tension through the entirety of the season. Midnight Mass is seven episodes long varying in length, usually an hour for the most part. Each one is masterful in developing characters and has just the right amount of calm before the storm. Each episode’s final 10 or 15 minutes accelerates the horror plot in unexpected ways; that is, until you catch onto what is happening then it becomes a sense of wonder.
I can’t say the references it has, or the pop culture ones either because to say would be spoiling the plot, and this is one show I really don’t want to do that. It is best to go in blind and be left at the mercy of what will unfold. The acting is superb by everyone involved, and I especially liked the Sheriff (Rahul Kohli) and Riley Flynn (Zach Gilford). The cinematography was excellent and helped add those feelings of isolation with the wide sweeping views of the lonely island. The music elevated the tension and suspense further, and I’m really glad that it didn’t give away if a mild jump scare was to happen. Speaking of those, they are far and few and the ones that do happen, are to be expected.
The imagery and religious symbolism within the show was used to great effect, and really made you think how well the subject matter of the Bible tied into the idea presented in the show. I’m not Catholic, so a lot of the Bible might have gone over my head, but the few passages I did understand, I really enjoyed the idea presented. In fact, one of the passages about Jesus, I always thought since I was a child, that it could be used for such an idea as this show. I read other reviews that didn’t enjoy the long monologues by many of the characters but I felt that they were needed because this show is filled with preaching and lots of sermons so the monologues fit into that idea of preaching.
Overall, I highly recommend the show. It’s a standout on Netflix, and one of their few really good original series. For fans of horror, it’s a must see.
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