Netflix’s Midnight Mass Early Review

For some folks, there is a thin line between good and evil. Midnight Mass is the latest limited series from Mike Flanagan that does a phenomenal job of blurring that line until it’s almost transparent. The series explores how the arrival of a charismatic priest named Father Paul (Hamish Linklater) challenges a remote island community to question their beliefs.

Many questions arise through the first few episodes of Midnight Mass but viewers will have to be patient before getting much in the way of clear answers which is merely a brilliant stroke of storytelling. Though one will undoubtedly try to piece clues together within their own minds, these pieces start to fit together over the course of the series. One of the biggest themes of the series and one that it leans upon heavily is faith and their connection to it as characters are forced to question their faith. These questions seemingly continue to pile up as the series gets deeper into the characters and their connection to the happenings on the island.

While Father Paul seems like a dutiful priest who genuinely cares about his constituents, even he eventually begins to question his beliefs. From there, the question of religion is covered from multiple angles. Who exactly is God? Once Father Paul announces what can only be described as a “miracle of God”, things slowly unravel throughout the quaint island community. He has a secret and he was willing to move heaven and earth in order to keep it.

Several characters in Midnight Mass are worth taking notice of. The first is of course Linklater who was amazing as Father Paul and the other three are Riley Flynn (Zach Gilford), Erin Greene (Katy Siegel) and Bev Keane (Samantha Sloyan) but the casting across the series was perfect – particularly Linklater and Sloywan. Viewers are as likely to gravitate towards certain characters by the end as finding themselves swaying to one side and then the other for others. For the most part, the characters feel like real people that viewers could easily see parts of themselves in. All of this makes for some potent storytelling – the kind of storytelling that will be remembered long after the series has ended.

The setting of Midnight Mass directly impacts how its story unfolds; the isolation on the island adds yet another dimension to the overall tension which is simply a testament to the genius writing. At the end of the day, no matter how close a community might appear to be, there will always be a line drawn in the sand when it comes to faith as its residents either believe or they don’t. Keane was Father Paul’s right hand when it came to everything. Her belief in God was nothing short of fanatical as the story is built around her unwavering faith in the priest and his message.

In the end, Midnight Mass is one of the best series in recent memory and is well worth the watch especially for those who enjoy things a little on the darker side. It may be classified as horror thanks to a fair share of graphic sequences that will surely primarily appeal to seasoned horror fans therefore it is probably not best watching for viewers who are especially squeamish.

still courtesy of Netflix

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