"Midnight Mass" Review: Mike Flanagan Continues To Knock It Out Of The Park With Horror Offerings That Are Really About Something Much Deeper

Mike Flanagan's latest offering is currently available on NetFlix. His most prominent series to date is "The Haunting Of Hill House" (based on Shirley Jackson's novel). Other works include: "The Haunting Of Bly Manor" (based on the Henry James novel "The Turn Of The Screw", "Dr Sleep" (based on the Stephen King novel), and "Hush".. Suffice to say, if it involves Mike Flanagan, I know I'm going to like it.

NOTE: I'm going to attempt to avoid major spoilers in this review. The less you know going into the series, the better.

"Midnight Mass" begins with a man is being released from prison. Riley Flynn served four years for killing a woman while driving drunk. He returns to his home on the isolated Crockett Island (population 127). A new priest (Father Paul) has also just arrived. The island is composed mainly of fisherman and a few families who have been there for generations. There's a small schoolhouse. Sheriff Hassan is also a recent arrival. There is so little crime on "The Crock Pot" (as the residents call it) that he doesnt even carry a gun. Gradually, strange things begin to happen. The first of which is hundreds of dead cats washing up on shore after a storm.

The series has a very Stephen King vibe. It reminds me of "Storm Of The Century"- probably due to the isolated location. "Midnight Mass" is an original work though.. Interestingly, there are Easter eggs in the series that connect to two of his other works-- "Gerald's Game" (also based on a Stephen King work) and "Hush (an original story by Flanagan and Siegel)". In "Hush" the main character (a deaf woman named Maddie) discusses her recent hit novel "Midnight Mass" with her neighbors. And in "Gerald's Game", the trapped Jessie hurls a copy of "Midnight Mass" at a hungry dog. I'm interested to see how everything in the Mike Flanagan universe connects in the future,

Some of Flangan's regular players have returned for this series. Wife Kate Siegel is back (as Erin Greene). Other's include: Annabelle Gish (as Dr Sarah Gunning), Rahul Kohil (as Sheriff Hassan), Henry Thomas (as Ed Flynn), and Alex Essoe (as Mildred Gunning), Carla Gugino also appears briefly.

Hamish Linklater really shines as Father Paul. Samantha Sloyan (who has also been in previous Flanagan works) is truly frightening as religious zealot Bev. And I always love Kate Siegel in every role. My only criticism is that the series is at times a bit dialogue heavy. More could have been made with less. In the end though, I still loved "Midnight Mass".

Grade: 5 Monsters (out of 5). Excellent! Mike Flanagan continues to knock it out of the park with his latest offering-- "Midnight Mass". Sure the limited series (seven episodes total) is "technically" horror. But like his other works, what the story is REALLY about is loss, love, faith and family. "Midnight Mass" deals more heavily with the"faith" aspect than some of his other series. Death will come for all of us. In the end, all that is left is our love for each other.