The Full Flanagan: A Review of “Midnight Mass”
Who are the new “Masters of Horror?” If the previous generation included heavyweight horror directors like Craven, Carpenter, and Romero, who are their modern equivalents? Can any contemporary horror director even compare to their genre forefathers? If you’re going to make that list, Mike Flanagan deserves to be at or near the top. His latest Netflix limited series, “Midnight Mass” is yet another jewel in his crown.
You can almost hear the opening of “Downeaster Alexa” as the camera flies over Crockett Island, an isolated community of just over 100 people. It’s a quiet place full of simple folks who go to church and lament their ebbing fishing economy. Former resident Riley Flynn (Zach Gilford of “Friday Night Lights”) returns to the island after 4 years in jail for causing a drunk driving accident that killed a teenager. His religious parents insist he goes to church with them every Sunday, which to the atheist Riley, sounds like a sentence unto itself. “Consider it part of your parole,” says his father Ed (Henry Thomas). Church itself takes on a new meaning thanks to the arrival of Father Paul (Hamish Linklater), an unexpected replacement for their elderly Monsignor, who’s recovering on the mainland, so don’t worry about it. Father Paul’s arrival is notable only to the people who attend church regularly. Until the miracles start.
Well, more like “miracles.” Impossibly excellent things start to happen to the island’s residents, who spend less time interrogating them and more time basking in what Father Paul, er excuse me, “God” can do. It’s hard not to get into spoiler territory when discussing the show, but things are definitely not what they seem, no matter how hard some parishioners want to believe. And boy do some of them want to believe, including Riley’s parents and Bev Keene (Samantha Sloyan), the local religious zealot. Think of Mrs. Carmody from “The Mist,” but better at keeping a lid on it. The terrific ensemble that includes Rahul Kohli as the town’s sheriff, a Muslim who tolerates more than he should to make a home for him and his son. There’s also Annabeth Gish as the skeptical town doctor, Robert Longstreet as the town drunk, and Kate Siegel as Riley’s childhood friend who recently returned to the island pregnant. If these names seem familiar, it’s because all of them (save for Linklater and Gilford) are Flanagan regulars and they once again knock it all out of the park. They give life and a sense of history to their character that you feel until their last onscreen moments. Siegel is Flanagan’s wife and collaborator, but those aren’t the only reasons she gets some of the best material. This shirt tells no lies. There are other actors I won’t mention since we meet them in old age makeup. This may seem dubious if you know who plays them, but if you don’t, you’re in for a surprise.
Hamish Linklater as a priest with a ::gasp:: secret
Yes, there are as many monologues as you may have heard, but it’s not quite the George R.R. Martin-describing-meals-tedium some are making it out to be. This IS a horror tv show and not a soap opera. Flanagan understands that you have to have good drama on which to build your terror. His foundation just happens to include a lot of characters talking about their pasts and sharing relevant fables. In a show about how the bible can be warped and twisted, the fables are actually a nice touch.
“Midnight Mass” is one of the best books Stephen King never wrote. It feels like a mash-up of ideas from several of his stories, but “Castle Rock '' this is not. Flanagan combines them into something unique and personal without winking to the audience (except one early scene which is a direct nod to a King book that would be a spoiler to reveal). It’s the kind of show you watch while holding your breath and hope the ending will be as strong as the rest of it. If you’re like me, that last line will haunt you. That’s the power of Mike Flanagan.
“Midnight Mass” is now streaming on Netflix.
