I still have _Absentia_ and _Before I Wake_ of his non-obscure works left to see, but I find this the best thing Flanagan has done to date. It turns out "original work + heavily literary-influenced" is the ideal middle point of this director, so his preoccupied philosophical/religious ideas don't feel as grafted on as sometimes happen in his adaptations (like the last episode of _Hill House_), and the influence helps stressed the emotional/thematic resonance further than his more purely formal genre exercises (like _Hush_ or _Oculus_).

The complexity here feels very much Stephen King-influenced (agreed with some comments of "best King novel that he has never written"), but being original work means Flanagan starts off with pure atmosphere and characterization of his own creation, which is why I don't find the pacing and monologues of early episodes to be too much like others do. They feel like carefully crafted momentums that deepen this rich world and cast of characters to parallel the horror-tinged mysteries taking place alongside them.

In fact, the only time they truly feel their length is when the other shoe drops a full reveal at the series' midpoint in Episode 4, because as good as its "after death" discussion and others are, they now feel in the way of a clear forward narrative now gaining steam proper. This problem persists a bit into Episode 5, but the devastating ending finally has the characters caught up with the audience, leading into the last two episodes that are the best landing in either of Flanagan's films or series. Horrific, supremely crafted, and surprisingly tender, the ending of series sees Flanagan has the characters confront their past traumas and current beliefs (whether firm or wavering) alongside the horror taking place, and the way he clearly grapples and ponders along with his own characters onscreen during the final stretch is the most moving filmmaking this director has ever done.

let's get the important stuff out of the way

0. there are onscreen animal deaths, though the cats are blessedly not that graphic or convincing post-mortem. the dog dies. this is a spoiler i won't hide or apologize for because i've never met a single person who doesn't want to know this spoiler tbh.
1. bev keane is a sanctimonious little shit who doesn't get her just desserts until the final episode, so look forward to suffering that for an eternity
2. rahul kohli deserves to be in front of my eyes at all times, especially with a beard and especially with all that intensity
3. kate spiegel has got to stop making me cry
4. hamish linklater gets the standout appreciation because i just watched him play a horrific child predator in lily rabe's amazon prime series and did not ONCE think about that character during this performance?? not even when he was being suspicious or delusional. like wtf why is he such a good actor and for that matter—
5. all of the acting in this is unbelievably good. like it's unfair how good even the child actors were.

onto the actual review:

do you like mike flanagan? do you love incredible actors getting to give intense monologues that make you kind of want to die? are you okay with the fact that literally everything is going to be sad (of course you are, if you said yes to the first question)?

then watch this. you'll enjoy it, no question. just be down for a slow pace, bleakness and intensity, and the usual not-quite-horror vibes. flanagan's work never rests on horror laurels and i feel like it makes his pieces stronger.

also: i spent the entire time leading up to the actual release having no idea that hamish was the Mysterious Charming priest character and spent the whole first episode going ZACH WHY ARE YOU SO SAD AND NOT MYSTERIOUS but tbh it all made sense soon enough.

anyway, for those of you wondering who shouldn't watch this: a LOT of talk of death. alcoholism. small town trapped feelings, and loss of life that gradually picks up pace throughout the series. i'd say skip this if bleak content puts you in a bad place. i also have a relative recently diagnosed with alzheimer's and that made the first couple episodes a bit harder.

since it's pretty obvious from the first or second episode, the rest of my comment isn't technically a spoiler BUT if you like going in totally blind, stop now!!

i think the way this show handles vampirism mythology is actually quite unique. it focuses far less on the vampire lore itself and far more on how easy it is for people desperate for answers to the universe to fit everything from completely ordinary occurrences to an actual batwinged monstrosity into a religious context if they just quote the right piece of scripture.

The show is so good that it deserved a much better ending.

Erin Greene's monologue at the end is "I am high and I think this is deep territory". It's just cringe. I liked Riley Flynn's earlier monologue better. Both of them even in the face of supernatural somehow manage to make materialist and reductionist arguments.

If philosophy, dogmatism and the human condition interest you do watch it. Don't worry about the ending; "it's the journey and not the destination" and all.

Mike Flanagan continues to channel his love of Stephen King into a miniseries that's actually better than most King TV screen adaptations we see. I wasn't totally won over by his _Haunting of Hill House_ and haven't bothered with the follow up series yet, but this is in a totally different league.

_Midnight Mass_ is absolutely steeped in thematic material. This could be a bit much if it didn't sit so well alongside the characters, the writing and the narrative. The series has hell of a lot to say about religion but it's never coming down for or against it. It allows each character's religious beliefs (even if they have none) to let us understand them and what their faith means to them.

I highly recommend going into this knowing as little as possible. Suffice to say that there are horror elements which creep in and it certainly fits into the classic Stephen King story mould. There are twists which are telegraphed from the start (if you notice [spoiler]the actors in old-age makeup in the first episode[/spoiler] then it's a bit obvious where things are going) and some which are much more subtle.

But the show really shines through the performances. Just about every episode has at least one scene which is completely mesmerising. It's not afraid of letting it's characters have discussions and letting us be there for the whole thing. More films and TV could benefit from this approach. I need to highlight Hamish Linklater in particular as doing an incredible job.

If I have any criticism it's that the visuals are a little frustrating. The series has that weird "modern" undersaturated look with minimal lighting which leads to things looking a bit flat. This is offset by some gorgeous cinematography and strong editing.

Also, Bev is the worst.