Mike Flanagan’s Must-Watch Netflix Horror: ‘Midnight Mass’

Of all the shows to stream during the Halloween season, Mike Flanagan’s original horror masterpiece on Netflix is at the top of my recommendation list. With a plethora of streaming services, horror shows are a dime a dozen, which makes finding a good one even more challenging. Filmmaker, writer, and producer Mike Flanagan has, luckily, developed a reputation for being a reliable source, with his The Haunting of Hill House series becoming a massive success.

Mike Flanagan provided Netflix with consistently entertaining horror TV miniseries and films for years, from Stephen King adaptations like Doctor Sleep and Gerald’s Game to modern reimaginings like The Fall of the House of Usher. While he’s since moved on to new horizons, Flanagan’s work for Netflix has left the streaming service with a reliable horror library. One show stands out as his best, if not purely for the fact that it’s entirely original.

‘Midnight Mass’ is Must-Watch Halloween TV

Netflix

Midnight Mass is a miniseries set on a desolate island with a small but devout Christian population. The series dives into the lives of the island’s inhabitants, specifically following Riley, a man who has just gotten out of prison after a drunk driving incident sent him away for years. The town’s everyday business is thrown into disarray upon the arrival of a charismatic, youthful priest who brings miracles to the community.

While The Haunting of Hill House is Mike Flanagan’s best-reviewed and most popular show for numerous reasons, Midnight Mass stands on its own as an outstanding piece of horror TV. Not only is it genuinely scary, with a unique take on its horror subgenre, but Midnight Mass is also an incredibly smart series with complex characters and profound philosophical themes. This is a show I wouldn’t just recommend to horror fans; it’s a story I’d advise any TV lover to watch.

Midnight Mass can bring terror, but not with cheap jump scares (though it has some shockers). Mike Flanagan’s series capitalizes on a more figurative, existential dread, much like classics like Salem’s Lot, using the horror genre as a vessel to say something about the human experience and American society. For fans of Stephen King, the influence on Midnight Mass is everywhere.

One of the best parts of Midnight Mass is that it’s only seven episodes. Each installment is about an hour long, but this show can be viewed in just a week or even less time to get in the mood for Halloween.