I thought Hill House was Mike Flanagan’s masterpiece until I saw Midnight Mass (I never thought he could recover from the atrocious Bly Manor). Midnight Mass is nothing short of brilliant. The production, the cinematography, the music, and most of all the two things that make this top notch tv are the script (enthralling and intelligent) and this company of actors at the very top of their game. There is no justice in this world if Hamish Linklater doesn’t get an Emmy for his tour de force performance. Midnight Mass works on almost every level. Some may find the soliloquies and dialogues hard going but this is exceptional tv and mesmerising to see what actors can do when everything comes together perfectly. Bravo!
A lot of great ingredients but Mike Flanagan may want to start letting his ideas bake a bit more before serving them to the public.
Like a cake taken out of the oven too early, the plot rises promisingly before collapsing in on its uncooked center.
The second to last episode is especially tough, as it requires some giant leaps of logic over glaringly obvious plot holes and false character actions.
Several main characters literally discuss how it’s good they still have cell coverage on the island (after they know almost exactly what is going on and know they need help) and yet NEVER CALL THE MAINLAND FOR HELP… like for SEVERAL HOURS they could have called the coast guard, the FBI, Dog The Bounty Hunter… ANYONE… but nope. One character has literal and actual scientific, visual proof of what is going on and a few scenes later does nothing to prove the exact same thing to another major character who is in need of convincing. Like IDK, film it on YOUR CELL PHONE and show it to them? These are just a few of several frustrating moments towards the end of an otherwise impressive series.
All in all it was a great show though with strong acting some memorable moments and nods to many of my favorite Stephen King stories (Steve Niles 30 Days of Night is a not unlikely inspiration as well). I just wish that Mike will take a little more time in the future to work out the kinks of his shows before filming them, to not frustrate those of us looking for logical and consistent character actions and motivation.
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