Midnight Mass (2021) Retrospective

Gothic horror meets anti-Catholic screed, wrapped up in gloppy new age sentimentality. Helmer/scripter Mike Flanagan’s vision reflects a perspective that is eccentric, to say the least. The production is a seven-part miniseries, with each episode named after a chapter of the Bible.

The pic opens in the aftermath of a fatal car accident, caused by drunk driving Riley Flynn (Zach Gilford). After serving a four-year prison term, he returns to his childhood home of (fictional) Crockett Island. For reasons never explained, the island’s population is overwhelmingly Catholic, indeed devoutly so in some cases. Yet, Riley, a former altar boy, has lost his faith, presumably in prison, or maybe by being in the big city, where he worked as a venture capitalist.

Old Monsignor Pruitt, who presides over the island’s single church (St. Patrick’s) is off on pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and is being temporarily replaced by Father Paul Hill. Both clerics are played by Hamish Linklater. As a condition of his parole, Riley must attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, so Father Paul offers to start one on the island, saving Riley from having to make the ferry trip back to the mainland.

The one-on-one AA meetings give Riley (clearly a self-insert of Flanagan) an opportunity to state his philosophy, and explain his current atheism. Meanwhile, strange events are occurring on the island, including sightings of a mysterious flying creature, and the sudden deaths of dozens of feral cats, all washed up on the shore.

With the beginning of Lent looming, the story enters its faux-Catholic phase in earnest. Lent starts with Ash Wednesday, a day of fast and abstinence (no meat). Catholics are allowed one full meal. Somehow, though, Ash Wednesday is the island’s traditional day for the Crock Potluck Festival, whereby all the people bring food for a big feast. This is nonsense, of course, and would never happen in any Catholic parish.

No doubt, Flanagan knows this, and injects such drivel along with many other bastardizations of the faith. Indeed, the very title “Midnight Mass” is meant to refer to the solemn Easter vigil service, but Easter vigil is never at midnight, rather it need only start after dark. The sole midnight mass of the liturgical year occurs on Christmas, as Christmas Eve turns into Christmas Day.

For good measure, Flanagan shows the church marquee proclaiming “Good Friday Mass,” when Good Friday is the only day of the year when there is no mass. Good Friday does have a communion service, but there is no mass, as such.

Flanagan’s deliberate misrepresentation of Catholic practices is reminiscent of Bill Clinton’s misquoting of Matthew 5:9, which he rendered as “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall inherit the land.” The correct passage, of course, is “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” The “inherit the land” phrase comes from Matthew 5:5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land.”

Note that with Clinton, as well as Flanagan, these malapropisms are no accident, as they were not uttered impromptu. Rather, they are more of a dare, or even a middle finger to the audience, challenging it to react—knowing that it likely will not.

As Lent unfolds, miracles start happening, including the mayor’s wheelchair-bound daughter regaining her ability to walk, and the local doctor’s mother not only being cured of dementia, but gaining back her youthful appearance. However, calamities occur as well, such as the pregnant schoolteacher losing her baby, and I mean there being no trace of a fetus or even pregnancy.

All will be revealed, and it’s not pretty.

SPOILERS AND OTHER COMMENTS

The flying creature turns out to be an “angel,” although it is more properly a vampire. This vampire attacked the Monsignor, allowing him to return to Crockett Island as his younger self—masquerading as Father Paul. Paul now puts this blood into the communion wine, causing the miracles as well as the teacher losing her baby.

Erin, the teacher, (Kate Siegel) is Riley’s former girlfriend, but he is not the father. Alas, Riley is attacked by the vampire and becomes one himself, only to self-immolate by exposing himself to sunlight. This is dramatically done while he is with Erin in a rowboat.

Evidently, Monsignor Pruitt signed on with the vampire to regain his youth, as well as the youth of his paramour, the doctor’s mother. Of course, Pruitt is the doctor’s father; but even at this, the mother wants no part of the proceedings. Yes, somehow a Catholic priest is sold on “eternal life,” as presented by a vampire, in contrast to what the faith is all about.

The grand plan is to convert all the island’s people into vampires during the Easter vigil, and then presumably live happily ever after—REALLY ever after. To foil this scheme, the island’s Muslim sheriff and a few others burn all the boats and structures, thus assuring that the vampires will have no shelter from the sunlight.

One of the survivors is Leeza (Annarah Cymone), the miraculously healed crippled girl, even though she should surely have turned into a vampire since she had enough “bad blood” to restore her body. Well, she survives, but reverts to being a cripple.

The character of Riley is completely superfluous, and the story would have actually worked better if it simply opened on the island. The few likable characters that do exist—with the exception of Leeza and Erin—add nothing at all to the story.

The notion that all the good Catholic people of Crockett Island would embrace the vampire life, with one obnoxious cartoon character zealot becoming its greatest proponent, is preposterous and insulting. Depressingly, the one character that does have an arc of sorts, Riley, achieves his redemption by committing suicide. How’s THAT for perverted theology?