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Netflix’s Midnight Mass is more slow-burning horror from the creator of Hill House
Throughout the Haunting anthology, creator Mike Flanagan has carved out a very particular brand of horror. Both Hill House and Bly Manor are slow and methodical, with intricate stories that carefully weave together ghostly scares with family drama. Their small scope keeps them focused. Flanagan’s latest, Midnight Mass, isn’t part of that anthology, though in many ways it feels like it is. It has the same patient build-up, the intense focus on family dynamics, and even some of the same cast. But Midnight Mass also increases the scope — and the scares. Instead of a single family home, its story encompasses a small fishing village, and instead of ghosts it’s more about monsters. It takes a bit to get going, but by the end it descends into pure and gruesome horror.
Netflix Watch Guide | Midnight Mass
Midnight Mass takes place on Crockett Island, colloquially known as Crock Pot, an isolated island with a population of just over a hundred residents. There are two important things to know about the island. First, it’s going through a steady decline years after an oil spill decimated the local fishing industry. Second, it’s a very religious place, with St. Patrick’s Church serving as the de facto center of town. At the outset of the show, the big island drama has to do with the aging local priest, who went on a pilgrimage and returned sick, and is now resting in a hospital on the mainland. A mysterious, young Father Paul (Hamish Linklater) arrives to temporarily take his place. Paul reinvigorates the island’s community, turning the church into the bustling, vibrant place it once was.
Around the time he arrives, weird things start happening. One day, dozens of dead cats wash up on a beach. Later, a resident swears he saw the old priest going for a walk in the middle of a deadly storm. Stranger still are the miracles: aging residents start to regain their youth, and a young girl stands up from her wheelchair and walks in order to receive communion. All of these seemingly disparate developments are connected to the show’s big twist, which reveals itself about halfway through.
