‘Midnight Mass’ review: A terrifying meditation on humanity, faith, and the afterlife

Mike Flanagan (The Hauntings of Hill House, The Hauntings of Bailey Manoro) has described midnight Mass as his most personal work. The disturbing series is an investigation into the double barrels of belief and addiction—both with which Flanagan has struggled. The setting, a remote island, also draws from Flanagan’s life as he spent his childhood on a lonely small island.

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The show opens with the arrival of the two men to Crockett Island. Riley (Zach Guilford) returns home after serving four years in prison for murdering a teenager while driving while intoxicated. The second arrival is a young priest, Paul Hill (Hamish Linklater), who arrives as Monsignor Pruitt’s temporary replacement. The old parish priest has gone on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

Riley’s homecoming is thorny; Although his mother Annie (Kristin Lehmann) is welcoming, his father Ed (Henry Thomas) is not apologetic. Having lost her faith in prison, Riley finds it difficult to integrate deeply into Catholic croquet. Erin (Kate Siegel), who used to date Riley, has also returned to Crockett. She is pregnant and living in her mother’s house and teaching in school like her mother.

Like Riley’s teenage brother, Warren (Igby Rigne), Riley is an altar boy in the church. Warren, along with fellow altar boys, Ukar (Louis Oliver) and Ali (Rahul Abburi), the son of Sheriff Hassan (Rahul Kohli), heads to an isolated part of the island to smoke. That’s when they learn that there is something wrong with the feral cats and the hulking presence.

Bev (Samantha Sloane) is the overbearing driving force in St. Patrick’s ride on the more temperate Mayor Wade (Michael Trucco) and his wife Dolly (Krystal Ballint). Bev dominates everyone from handyman Sturge (Matt Beadle) to the sheriff. She is the one who persuades all the townspeople to agree to a settlement when an oil spill ruined the beach and the livelihood of the fishermen. Meanwhile, the mayor’s daughter Lisa (Annara Simone) is wheelchair-bound after a shooting accident at the hands of the town’s intoxicated Joe (Robert Longstreet).

Sarah (Annabeth Gish) is an island doctor caring for her mother, Mildred (Alex Esso), who suffers from dementia. covering the period between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday, midnight Mass has used book names from the Bible for episodes, from Genesis through Psalms, Proverbs, Lamentations, Gospels, and Acts of the Apostles ending in Revelation.

midnight Mass It is at its strongest with a focus on humanity, faith and the afterlife. Due to Sheriff Hassan coming to the island, Erin’s coming to terms with her loss, Riley’s focus on death, Bev’s fearful belief of being right and everyone else’s wrong, Ed’s resentment for his son, and For those who refuse to forgive themselves, we all create character. meticulous care. Sweet hymns including ‘Abide With Me’ (a personal favorite) add texture to these lives lived in quiet desperation.

A lovely looking and deeply disturbing show, midnight Mass Pulls gently and keeps in demonic disorder. It is towards the end when everyone learns that the show loses its punch, moving from disturbing and humanistic to splashy festivities. All the cast members are great, with Linklater and Sloane zooming in on the top of the class. Linklater’s Father Paul takes off three skins revealing a different character under each one, while Sloane perfectly captures the passionate Bev.

If you can forgive the incredibly talkative bits (they’re really well written), the perversion of comforting prayer (you won’t be calling God’s angel, guardian darling any time soon) and rather silly conclusions, midnight Mass Many ask disruptive questions that will stay with you long after the fire and brimstone is over.

Midnight Mass is currently streaming on Netflix