One of the most authoritative voices working in the horror genre today,American filmmaker Mike Flanaganis responsible for creating five shows released on Netflix to date. In chronological order, Flanagan’s horror series includeThe Haunting of Hill House,The Haunting of Bly Manor,Midnight Mass, The Midnight Club, and most recently,The Fall of the House of Usher. Although each series has its own merits, one stands head and shoulders above the rest as Flanagan’s best work on Netflix to date.
While many will assume it’sThe Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Massis actually Flangan’s best Netflix horror story thus far. Blending Gothic iconography with supernatural horror tenets and religious themes, the story takes place on Crockett Island, an isolated community where a disgraced drifter returns home and becomes entangled with a charismatic preacher whose bizarre behavior leads to one unforeseen story twist after another. Between the casting, originality, performances, and ambiguous ending that bears repeat viewings, it’s time to break down whyMidnight Massis Mike Flanagan’s best Netflix horror series.
An Original and Personal Story
Midnight Mass
The chief reason whyMidnight Massis Flanagan’s best work pertains to how personal and original the story is. First off,Midnight Massis the only Netflix series directed by Flanagan that comes from an original story idea that he conceived. Every other series was adapted from source material written by acclaimed authors, including Shirley Jackson (Hill House), Henry James (Bly Manor), Christopher Pike (Midnight Club),and Edgar Allan Poe(Usher). As such,Midnight Masssimply means more to Flanagan than the others.
According toBloody-Disgusting, Flanagan consideredMidnight Massa “deeply personal” passion project that has been with him for longer than he can remember. He began the project as a novel that evolved into a feature film screenplay that became so long that Flanagan felt the project would work best as a TV series. “There has probably never been a project more personal to me…it’s the single most rewarding professional experience of my life.” By digging into his past and exploring the religious themes he grew up with, Flanagan was able to reconcile his upbringing in the Catholic Church and confront his past through art inthe outstanding Netflix horror series.
Another glaring reason whyMidnight Massreigns supreme involves the towering performance by Hamish Linklater as the mysterious and charming Father Paul. It’s impossible to get a grip on where Paul takes the audience, which reinforces the unpredictable nature of the story and keeps viewers on the edge of their seats along the way. With an outstanding performance by Zach Gilford as series protagonist, Riley Flynn, the level of acting is far superior to the histrionic melodrama featured in Flanagan’s “Haunting” series.
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Moreover, Flanagan likes to recast the same actors over and over in his projects, including his wife Kate Siegel, which tends to make each one progressively more stale and repetitive despite the narrative differences. For example, Henry Thomas appears in every Flanagan Netflix show exceptMidnight Mass. Conversely, Linklater appears only inMidnight Mass. The result is a far more refreshing and enthralling ensemble cast, with Linklater winning a Critics' Choice Award for Best Actor in a Horror Series for his harrowing, horrifying, and fully committed performance.
Creative Creepiness
Perhaps the most important horror criterion,Midnight Massis downright creepier and more creative than Flanagan’s other Netflix shows. While the “Haunting” and “Usher” series offer unsettling meditations on the age-old haunted house subgenre,Midnight Massis a throwback to the mortifying and mystifying supernatural chillers of horror’s halcyon days of the ’70s. Just when viewers think it’s headed down the sacrificialWicker Manpath, the show completely subverts the mythic lore of vampirism to tell a much more unpredictable horror story.
Armed with atmospheric dread, an escalating sense of paranoia and unease, and a deeply disquieting tone that grips viewers and never lets up,Midnight Masshas a far more profound effect on viewers than Flanagan’s other macabre small-screen adaptations. The undeniable creepiness and visceral chills the show provides tie directly into the weighty religious themes to explore everything from death and grief to guilt and free will to addiction and sobriety. Unlike the others, especially the adolescentMidnight Club,Midnight Massis a mature horror tale for adult audiences and the scariness shows it.
Length and Ambiguous Ending
Another vital reason whyMidnight Massreigns supreme is that it never overstays its welcome. With just seven episodes in total,Midnight Massis the shortest and most focused Mike Flanagan Netflix show thus far. In addition to being repetitive, one of the biggest gripes about Flanagan’s two “Haunting” series is that they are too long (9, 10 episodes apiece) and feature far too much filler in the middle episodes to pad the run time and accommodate Netflix binge-watching.Midnight Massdoesn’t have that problem.
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By keeping the tight and terrifying supernatural tale under eight hours, Flanagan ensures that the storytelling is sharp and devoid of unnecessary plotlines that distract from the main story. This keeps the thrust of the primary narrative intact and makes for a much more enjoyable and engaging viewing experience from beginning to end. Also, thanks to the timelessBiblical nature of the story(replete with haunting hymnal music) and the ambiguous ending that continues to challenge viewers to demystify its overall meaning,Midnight Masshas a higher rewatchability factor than Flanagan’s more predictable and lackluster TV shows.
Glowing Critical Response
It’s one thing to take a writer’s opinion about the show, it’s quite another to hear from the professional critics. In the case ofMidnight Mass' glowing plaudits, famed critic Richard Roeper gave a glowing review inThe Chicago Sun-Times, callingMidnight Mass"The best Stephen King story Stephen King never wrote," adding, “Even though this is an original work from Flanagan, it feels like a high-level adaptation of a particularly haunting King novel.”
The irony of Roeper’s review is especially telling. Horror fans will recall that Flanagan is a hugeStephen King and has adapted two of his booksto date, includingGerald’s Gamefor Netflix andDoctor Sleepfor Warner Bros, both of which were produced beforeMidnight Mass. Therefore, to write and direct an original series that aptly mirrors the horror sensibilities of his literary idol further proves thatMidnight Massis Mike Flanagan’s best Netflix series to date.
The show is original, ambitious, deeply unsettling, and despite its slow-burning pace, never overstays its welcome. If that wasn’t convincing enough, the frightening tour-de-force performance by Hamish Linklater as the leader ofMidnight Massis sure to strike fear into the hearts and minds of viewers yet to witness the sinister ceremony.Stream on Netflix.
