In what is his beefiest and best role to date, Hamish Linklater leads a strong ensemble cast that includes Zach Gilford, Kate Siegel, Henry Thomas, and Annabeth Gish. Suppose you’re digging the vibes of John Griffin‘s From, in that case, you should absolutely watch (or even rewatch) this terrifying creep show that ventures into religious epistemology and how extremely dark forces can be misinterpreted.
What Is ‘Midnight Mass’ About?
On the small island town of Crockett, the Monsignor of the local Catholic Church has mysteriously disappeared, leaving the God-fearing congregation needing help and new leadership. The people of Crockett are struggling as the fishing economy that drives the town is shrinking. The sleepy town is dying until a charismatic priest named Father Paul Hill (Linklater) arrives to ostensibly replace Monsignor John Pruitt. Along with his undeniable charm and knowledge of scripture, he brings a series of inexplicable miracles that revitalize the dreary island.
But, like in From, a malevolent being lurks, attempting to exploit the desperate populace. Flanagan does brilliant work interweaving the stories of an ensemble of players who are all engaging characters with unique storylines. When they start to realize that Father Paul is leading them down a dark path, it is too late, and dozens of the people in the community suffer the consequences of having blind faith in what turns out to be an irreparably flawed man who has no idea of the destruction he has brought to Crockett Island.
‘Midnight Mass’ Has the Same Dreadful Tone as ‘From’
There are obvious similarities between Midnight Mass and From, including a small and isolated group of people cut off from the larger society and subject to the whims of an influential entity like Father Paul. Even as Paul brings a sense of hope and executes miracles of healing power, there is a feeling that it is a precursor to something else—something dangerous. In that sense, the ambiance of the two shows is unyielding existential dread, as if the audience is waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Fortunately, while the slow-burning story of Paul’s secret forms throughout the series, Flanagan writes a collection of salt-of-the-earth people with interesting backstories. Riley Flynn (Gilford) is a recovering alcoholic who has returned to Crockett Island after having served time in jail for the vehicular manslaughter of a young woman. He fell asleep at the wheel because he was drunk. His love interest, Erin Greene (Siegel), tries to leave the small-town life behind her for greener pastures as a performer, but has also returned, getting pregnant and failing to achieve her dreams. The relationship between these two and their deep discussions about life and death is both profound and enlightening.
Father Paul’s Deadly Secret Devastates the Small Town in ‘Midnight Mass’
The unfortunate souls trapped in the Midwestern town deal with a deadly group of ghastly monsters every night in From. Midnight Mass is different because it continues collecting more gunpowder to deliver a massive haymaker of a shotgun blast in the final sequence. The series finale is intended to be Flanagan’s interpretation of the Bible’s Book of Revelations and the End of Days as it applies to the people of Crockett Island. He uses humanity’s shortcomings, lack of understanding, and misinterpretation of scripture to punctuate his story. Father Paul was wrong about everything regarding the bloodthirsty angel he brought back to the town.
He has brought the wrath of a cruel and winged vampire with designs to exsanguinate and own the souls of everyone on the island. He has brought a plague in the form of a ghoulish bloodsucker onto an island that has been completely cut off from the mainland and the rest of civilization. In the end, Flanagan intends to demonstrate how meek and clueless humanity is and that faith, while good for many people, can be twisted by a few in power. The result is a cataclysm that sees only two children survive as they row a small canoe away from an island engulfed in flames.
Midnight Mass is available to stream on Netflix in the U.S.