Mass Effect

Following The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor, writer-director Mike Flanagan's latest horror mini-series for Netflix is Midnight Mass. Set on a tiny island, the story follows Riley Flynn as he's forced to return to his parents' home after being paroled from prison. He finds a shrinking, declining community, suspicious not only of him, but of a new priest, Father Paul, who arrives to replace the aging local monsignor. Paul soon proves capable of performing actual miracles, but the dark truth behind them threatens the entire island.

This new series is quite different from the previous two (and not just because "The Haunting of" is missing from the title). Hill House and Bly Manor were largely about delivering the scares expected of the horror-thriller genre. There's nothing wrong with that, and I found Hill House in particular to be especially entertaining in its visceral thrills and tricky craftsmanship. But Midnight Mass is something deeper, with a strong point of view and a message at its core.

As you would guess from the title, religion plays a huge role in Midnight Mass. This is a story about things that are objectively horrible, truly "evil," and how some people would use religion to couch that evil in righteousness. It's sometimes subtle, and often not, but the series beats a steady drum against a performative strain of religious fervor, denouncing the sort of person who can justify anything and slot into their preexisting narrative. Indeed, the show is so scathing at times, and such a slow burn in its initial episodes, that you may well find yourself saying, "wait... I thought this was supposed to be horror."

Then a massive curve ball arrives in episode 3 to remind you that, oh yes, this is firmly a horror tale. It's just one that aims to be particularly meaty and thought-provoking along the way.

The cast features many of the "repertory company" Flanagan used in the two Haunting series, including Henry Thomas, Annabeth Gish, and Rahul Kohli. And lest you think it's only favoritism that sees his wife Kate Siegel back in the mix again, she really delivers on key scenes in the series that draw the themes of life and death into sharp focus.

There are several standouts new to the Flanagan fold, though. Zach Gilford is effective as the noble-tortured Riley. Samantha Sloyan is infuriating as the holier-than-thou zealot Bev Keane. And Hamish Linklater excels in the weighty role of Father Paul.

If you're like me, Midnight Mass won't set its hook in you right away. But it absolutely rewards patience. I give the series an A-. It surpassed The Haunting of Hill House to become my favorite of Mike Flanagan's Netflix horror series.