Earlier than Mike Flanagan surprised everybody together with his fantastically made Netflix collection The Haunting of Hill Home, two of his greatest horror motion pictures, Oculus and Hush, have been launched in 2013 and 2016. These have been my first two Flanagan tasks, and his touching storytelling impressed me. However whereas I agree that there aren’t sufficient good issues to say about Hill Home, it wasn’t till Flanagan’s third Netflix collection was launched in September 2021 that I received actually excited.
Midnight Mass stars Zach Gilford as Riley Flynn, who comes again to Crockett Island and spends time together with his outdated pal Erin Greene (Kate Siegel) at a very wild time. Riley is shocked, alongside together with his fellow residents, when Father Paul Hill (Hamish Linklater) involves St. Patrick’s Church. Mike Flanagan shared extra about this collection in a compelling interview, and it is clear why that is his biggest work.
‘Midnight Mass’ Is a Significant Story for Mike Flanagan
In a 2025 interview with GoldDerby, Mike Flanagan talked about his superb profession, and he shared extra about Midnight Mass and his Stephen King movie adaptation, The Lifetime of Chuck. He mentioned:
“In TV, the one which got here most from the guts was Midnight Mass. And for my options, that is it.”
He continued:
“And I type of really feel like that feeling I’ve all the time had of, ‘What in case your profession goes away? What if Hollywood would not need you anymore?’ If that occurs now … I might be crushed, after all, however I might stroll away being like, ‘I received to do Midnight Mass and Chuck. I am good.’ These are these are my favorites.”
Flanagan spoke concerning the “private” nature of the TV collection in an interview with Leisure Weekly in 2021. He known as it “the perfect undertaking I might by no means make” as a result of it was too lengthy as a film, and he could not promote the TV present at first. Two of his motion pictures embody Midnight Mass references, which is cool. A e book with this title is featured within the Stephen King Netflix adaptation, Gerald’s Recreation, and in Hush.
When Midnight Mass was launched within the fall of 2021, Flanagan defined in a letter that, as he had been sober for 3 years, he needed to discover that subject in one in every of his works. The collection additionally dives into atheism, a topic he’s accustomed to since he was raised in a Catholic household after which turned an atheist. The characters who reside on Crockett Island are all non secular, and Riley returns dwelling after driving drunk in an accident that turns into tragic.
Why ‘Midnight Mass’ Solely Improves With Time
I feel Mike Flanagan’s Midnight Mass is his strongest story as a result of it issues a lot to him. Sure, The Haunting of Hill Home is about households dealing (and never dealing) with trauma. There are leap scares, ghosts, and mysterious characters in The Midnight Membership, The Fall of the Home of Usher, and The Haunting of Bly Manor. However solely Midnight Mass dives into faith, perception, and alcoholism in such a memorable and essential means.
Once I watched the collection as quickly because it premiered on Netflix in September 2021, I might inform it was one thing particular. At first, I used to be principally excited a couple of new Flanagan present and seeing Zach Gilford again on TV after watching his highly effective arc as delicate Matt Saracen on Friday Night time Lights. Then, it turned clear this was a uncooked and interesting story concerning the typically suffocating nature of small-town life, and a present about faith, life, and demise. (You understand, the straightforward topics.)
Some horror and thriller TV reveals can solely be watched as soon as. Midnight Mass feels extra thrilling with every passing yr since you’ll all the time discover one thing recent to consider and concentrate on. The primary time, you is likely to be shocked by the deceased cats on Crockett Island on the finish of Episode 1, “Guide I: Genesis.” Or maybe you will concentrate on the attractive reveal of Leeza Scarborough (Annarah Cymone) strolling once more after being paralyzed. The extra occasions you get via these seven episodes, the extra you may replicate on what Flanagan appeared to need to say: that everybody struggles, everybody wants hope, and typically you flip right into a vampire and disappear when the solar shines on you. (Simply kidding about that final one.)
Mike Flanagan’s ‘Midnight Mass’ Options One Notably Memorable Scene
Since Flanagan’s story “got here from the guts,” and he hoped to carry it into the world for thus lengthy, Midnight Mass is an exquisite and galvanizing instance of when an artist can take their lived expertise and create one thing unimaginable. I am certain that Flanagan might have written a shifting story about being sober if he hadn’t skilled it himself. He is one of the gifted horror filmmakers and showrunners working at this time. The truth that he is aware of what it is like, although, made this present work so a lot better.
Riley is tortured by his previous, the explanation why he went to jail, and the time he has spent away from Crockett Island. Anybody who has moved away after which discovered themselves dwelling of their hometown once more can relate to that a part of the story. And anybody who has confronted challenges and gotten a second likelihood can empathize with Riley. It is fascinating to observe a personality who is not afraid of dying as a result of they’ve already gone via a lot.
Whereas Erin’s monologue about demise has been criticized, it is my favourite second from Midnight Mass, and I feel that it is one in every of Flanagan’s greatest items of writing. Riley asks, “What occurs once we die?” and Erin explains her ideas. Sure, it is melodramatic. Erin talks about “atoms” in her physique and the way she’s “power.” I perceive why some suppose this can be a bit a lot. Nonetheless, it is a type of thought-provoking scenes that makes viewers cease and replicate on how they actually really feel about their mortality. Most individuals don’t love to speak or take into consideration demise, however Flanagan encourages it.
In fact, slasher movies, vampire tales, and supernatural motion pictures function demise, however the excessive kill counts and gore are supposed to shock. I did not anticipate to listen to a personality speak about what they suppose it is actually prefer to die in a horror collection. The present feels stunning, not due to any massive reveals however as a result of the characters are so open about their feelings. Whereas Flanagan’s different collection, just like the underrated The Midnight Membership, are superb, I all the time come again to Midnight Mass.