Reviewing "Midnight Mass": A brilliant philosophical horror series about death, guilt, religious fanaticism

Midnight Mass is a 2021 Netflix horror miniseries created by Mike Flanagan, of The Haunting Of Hill House fame.

It stars Zach Gilford, Kate Siegel, Hamish Linklater, Samantha Sloyan, and Rahul Kohli.

It takes place on a small community on Crockett Island, a remote island in America, as the town is shaken by mysterious events following the arrival of a mysterious priest, Father Paul. Different people on the island have varied reactions to these events, ranging from disbelief and skepticism at the apparently supernatural occurrences, to becoming devoutly religious and seeing those events as a result of divine intervention, to using the events and the resulting religious fervor to their own advantage, twisting religious scripture to suit their own agenda. The story is filled with unexpected twists and turns as well philosophical musings on death and religion. The scene where Kate Siegel and Zach Gilford what they think happens after death is beautiful and moving. You understand that the series doesn't demonize any religion or belief system, but points out that religious extremism and extremism in general can do a lot of harm, especially when the masses are being manipulated by those who use religion as a veneer of justification for their heinous actions.

The performances are very genuine, and once again I must commend Kate Siegel for her work here, though I would argue that the standouts are Hamish Linklater as the well-meaning but sinister-seeming Father Hill, with strange mannerisms and affectations who nevertheless seems to want to help the people of Crockett Island, and Samantha Sloyan as the deliciously self-righteous Bev Keane. They make their characters believable in a very human way, in that while they may seem larger-than-life, they are ultimately drawn from people who could conceivably exist in real life, and the believability of all of the characters we see is a huge part of why we empathize with them and their struggles, and why this series is so engaging and heartbreaking is all the right ways. There are no heroes here, just a lot of realistically flawed people trying to make sense of what has happened and what is happening.

Midnight Mass is a brilliant horror miniseries exploring death, fanaticism, and religion, with great characters brought to life by masterful performances, and undoubtedly Mike Flanagan's best work to date.

Score: 10/10