Tvline iconTvlineSep 24, 2026 ~3 min source read

5 Years Later: Why Mike Flanagan’s Midnight Mass Still Resonates

A practical summary of Midnight Mass: its setup, the central twist, how it uses vampire lore to examine faith and addiction, and why the miniseries stands out among Flanagan’s Netflix work.

5 Years Ago Today: Mike Flanagan Gave Netflix One Of Its Best Horror Miniseries

Share this story

Send the public story page.

Useful takeaways from this story.

Midnight Mass reframes vampire mythology through a Catholic community to explore faith, redemption, and the dangers of weaponized religion.

The series’ central shock: the new priest, Father Paul, is the island’s aging monsignor restored to youth by a vampiric ‘Angel’ whose blood the church begins to use as a supposed miracle.

Character choices—especially Riley Flynn’s self-sacrifice and Bev Keane’s rise to fanatic power—anchor the horror in human tragedy rather than only supernatural spectacle.

The useful part

Mike Flanagan Gave Netflix One Of Its Best Horror Miniseries Streaming Netflix 5 Years Ago Today: Mike Flanagan Gave Netflix One Of Its Best Horror Miniseries By Eammon Parks Jacobs Sept. The series balances heart, tragedy, and horror in a deadly parable about faith and mob psychology.

How it works

  • Set on the fictional Crockett Island, it follows a remote Catholic community whose lives are upended when mysterious new priest Father Paul Hill (Hamish Linklater) arrives to replace their aging monsignor.
  • The creature becomes especially terrifying because of how it embeds itself in the community through the church.
  • She and her followers then go on a gory rampage against the island's non-believers as Crockett Island burns around them.
  • Five years on, he said "Midnight Mass" couldn't be made today because of how Netflix has changed.
  • So it's a minor miracle that the show even saw the light of day, but thankfully it didn't burst into flames.

What to take from it

Her religious hypocrisy is displayed repeatedly, especially in her treatment of Sheriff Hassan (Rahul Kohli), whose Muslim faith she disparages before later mortally wounding him. Prodigal son Riley Flynn (Zach Gilford) also returns home to rebuild his life after accidentally killing a woman while driving drunk. Their parallel stories allow Flanagan to explore redemption and corruption while taking a fresh bite out of classic vampire mythology.

Example or evidence

  • Father Paul secretly uses its blood during Holy Communion, seemingly curing members of his congregation of illness and restoring their youth while strengthening their faith in what they believe is a miracle.
  • After the Angel turns Riley into a vampire, he refuses to surrender to his new thirst.
  • In Episode 5, he takes Erin Greene (Kate Siegel) onto a boat and allows the sunrise to burn him alive, proving to her what is happening on Crockett Island.
  • If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available.

Details worth keeping

24, 2026 8:30 am EST Eike Schroter/Netflix Add TVLine on Google: Midnight Mass puts a Catholic spin on classic vampire mythology Netflix The big twist in Netflix's horror miniseries is that Father Paul is actually Crockett Island's elderly monsignor, restored to youth after being attacked during a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. In other words, Father Paul has encountered a vampire.

Related coverage

  • Comicbook: When it comes to shocking plot twists, especially in horror movies, there is no name more associated with them than M.
  • Tvline: 25 years after its HBO debut, one celebrated miniseries still stands as a landmark television achievement with a legacy that continues to endure.
  • Comicbook: Considering the frequency that horror movies release, it's always impressive when one manages to be a break out hit, especially if it is an original story.
  • Fanbolt: Stephen King calls Mike Flanagan's 'Carrie' brilliant, praising its social media angle. All 8 episodes hit Prime Video Oct 7.
  • Tvline: If you grew up in the 1990s and you're into horror movies, there's a good chance your obsession with the genre began with this Nickelodeon show.

More context around this story.

Loading more related stories...

Keep reading in the app

Open the app view to save this story, compare related coverage, and continue from the same source.

Open in app