A masterpiece blend of horror and philosophy

I'd never considered myself a fan of horror until I delved into Mike Flanagan's various limited series on Netflix. He has a very captivating way of building earnest drama along slow-boil tension and release that challenged my previous bias of horror as largely kitsch and predictable even among its classics.

Unlike his other Netflix pieces, Midnight Mass is a completely original work and passion project, whose script met rebuff from executives for years. In some ways it is not hard to see why. This is often not an easy watch. Its study of human psychology through a perverted but genius reading of Catholic scripture is as unsettling as the horrific cinematic reveals. Some may not enjoy the trading of typical horror themes for a more subtle, pensive and unnerving approach, tied inextricably to the various characters and their differing motivations. But these are exactly the purpose of the show amidst a twisted unravelling that touches on the nature of truth, conviction, language, loss, redemption, and the morality and humanity of all those things.

This is terror more than horror. Terror at the twisted logic of it. Terror at what conviction can bring a person to do. Terror at how reasonable it can seem. Terror at how realistic it seems. Among the many great performances, Hamish Linklater's performance in particular may leave even you alongside me, bewitched and voyeuristic at times.