Midnight Mass (8/10)

 

    "Midnight Mass" is a supernatural horror miniseries that aired on Netflix in September of 2021. It's still up at the time of this review so, if you haven't watched it yet and are even vaguely curious, go there first and come back before I spoil things. It's seven episodes long (about 8 hours runtime) and contains particularly great performances from Hamish Linklater, Kate Siegel, and Samantha Sloyan. 

    I had seen Hamish before in a comedic role alongside Julia Louis-Dreyfus in "The New Adventures of Old Christine." He had a wonderfully sarcastic delivery and a dry sense of humor and was overall my favorite character. So seeing him star in this role as Father Paul with such a solemn subject matter was quite a tone shift for me. I think he pulled it off quite well. 

    So basic overview: things get weird after their old pastor leaves and a mysterious new priest arrives on an island with a close-knit, religious community. 

    This series is draped with a veritable BLANKET of Christian/Catholic religion from start to finish. It's like, the whole point. It's such an interesting new spin on the ideas and tenets of the faith of Christ, and yet it's so familiar at the same time. 

    I was raised Catholic, and the entirety of my mother's side of the family follows that faith for the most part. So I went in knowing all of the prayers, all of the hymns the congregation sings together, how the Eucharist tastes. It was very strange to be watching this series - one that had obviously done its research into the entire structure of the Christian/Catholic Mass - To be viewing this series from the "outside" as a viewer, on my couch. It made me wonder what others would think of this series if they did NOT have the same religious background that I did. 

    Watching a dramatic portrayal of the faith I had been raised with and the balance between the old and the new was just very strange and a little hard to describe. 

    I haven't really felt a connection to my faith in ten years or so. It was shaken as my mental health problems increased in college and it has only seemed to crumble more since. As I left my hometown and grew older, I learned about many other faiths and systems of belief from around the world. I met a wider variety of people. I realized that the faith of my youth reeked of patriarchy and the wretched ways it oppresses women as being less than men. Once I noticed more of the flaws and inconsistencies with Catholicism, I couldn't unsee them. 

    I don't believe I can refer to myself as Catholic any longer... and yet I still find myself praying in times of distress. There is always a rosary in my purse, and one at my bedside. and there is definitely a certain comforting familiarity in returning to a Catholic mass on occasion with my mother. It's like how you suddenly remember the words to a song you haven't heard in ages. You remember them as if the song played on the radio only yesterday. 

    So "Midnight Mass" as a whole was especially interesting to me as one who is rather agnostic at this point. It felt really personal to view it. 

(The Church was literally called "Saint Patrick's Catholic Church" which was the name of the K-12 Catholic school I attended in my youth. Like?? Are you serious?)

    It repeated aspects and ideals that I knew like the back of my hand, and yet it took them to a brand new place that I had never been before. It recited the same scriptures and gospels and yet they were fulfilled in ways I did not expect. It was so familiar and nostalgic and also so strange at the same time. 

    What would someone think if ALL of it was strange and new? 

    What about someone who was even closer to their faith than I am, even closer to the heart of it all? What would they think of this miniseries? 

    I would love to know so feel free to comment if you have any thoughts or inputs to share.

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SPOILER WARNING AHEAD

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    Overall there was a lovely variety of characters. I don't think they spent too much time or not enough time on any one in particular. The way their stories interweave and come together was very clever and impressive, seeing as it's not the smallest cast. The small setting of the story lent itself to a sense of isolation and that "small town syndrome" I've experienced before. As the story went on, the island became claustrophobic, desperate. Such a small place for such an incredible event. 

    The only thing I can really think of as a critique was the pacing? It took quite a bit for things to pick up and get interesting. Of course, I acknowledge the need to "set the scene" but there was perhaps some material that could've been trimmed or streamlined a bit more. I remember parts of Episode one and into Episode two dragging a little before everything really started to take off. 

    Also I kind of thought the subplot between Father Pruitt and his old lover, Mildred and their daughter, Sarah was a little unnecessary. It just didn't add a whole lot to the story, so when time was spent on it, it felt a tad bit wasted. But I'm kind of reaching, honestly there are far more good aspects to this series than bad. 

    The design of the Angel was great. It was so simple, no clutter or flair. It did exactly what it needed to do. And the cast and crew used practical effects as much as they could, which I REALLY admire. I will SING the praises of practical effects over CGI any day. Sometimes some of the make-up and facial prosthetics to "de-age" some of the characters looked a bit over the top or fake, I suppose. But the creature's hands were lovely and hideous and they even had a puppeteer to move its massive bat wings for real instead of digitizing them in most scenes. I am ALL about that energy, that passion for the craft and attention to detail. Hell yeah

    The way the Angel and those that had fed on its blood had their eyes glow in the dark like a cat's was SO cool and so unsettling. Honestly one of my favorite aspects of the whole design. It's such a new take on vampires without even exactly being a take on vampires at all. It was refreshing and surprising, but still familiar enough to be accessible and approachable to me as a viewer.

    The ending was so climactic and emotional. The whole structure of the story had been building and building to that moment and it did not disappoint. I would say it's a surprisingly positive finale overall, though there is much darkness and violence leading up to it. Though the sacrifices made were heavy indeed, I think I could say this one has a relatively happy ending, all things considered. I always appreciate horror stories that can come around full circle and leave you with even a sliver of light at the end of the tunnel of death. It ends on a bittersweet note, fairly open-ended, and yet satisfying just the same.     

    I loved Riley's elderly parents and how they held each other, not tempted by the bloodlust in the slightest.

    I loved how most of the congregation sang a lovely hymn together in their final moments.

    I loved how Beverly was so sure of her faith for the whole series. She had such a rock solid conviction about what was right and what serving God entailed - and yet SHE is the one screaming and crying, clawing desperately at the sand to try and hide from the sun on the beach as morning comes at last. She completely loses her composure, her dignity, even though it seems like she would be the LEAST afraid to die, being so close to the Lord.

    It was a sort of poetic justice, to be sure.

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    I wonder how some of my more devout friends and family would view this series. I remember a few hated "The Davinci Code" so I wonder if "Midnight Mass" would strike them as ridiculous and "full of lies" just the same. It's a possibility. The show certainly chooses a darker path to the ultimate resurrection with Christ to spread the good news to all the world. 

    For what it's worth though, the show really has heart. It's so very human, in the best and the worst ways. For one person so noble and good, there is another so hateful and zealous and cruel. The characters really show what matters to them at the end of the day, what they are and are not willing to do for their fellow man. What lines they will not cross. 

    I would hope, even if one finds this approach to Christianity/Catholicism to be ostentatious or absurd, that one could still find some good aspects in the growth and development of the characters. Some of them really come full circle, overcoming their demons and achieving redemption and forgiveness. So many of them give up EVERYTHING to make things right because they are honest and good people. 

    It doesn't feel like some sort of smear campaign for the Christian/Catholic faith. There is nuance and tact while handling difficult subject matters. There are so many parallels and metaphors as the story goes on and relates back in on itself. It was crafted with emotional depth and intelligence. It feels quite full of love to me, especially at the end. 

Overall, worth the watch whether it's Halloween or not. 

Thanks for reading. 

More reviews to come.