Five years ago today, Mike Flanagan gave Netflix one of its best horror miniseries. “Midnight Mass” arrived on the streamer in September 2021, and it remains a sharp, complicated piece of horror that uses vampires as a mirror for faith and mob behavior.
The show follows a remote Catholic community on Crockett Island. When a new priest named Father Paul Hill (Hamish Linklater) arrives to replace their aging monsignor, the town’s lives start to break apart. Prodigal son Riley Flynn (Zach Gilford) also returns home, trying to build a new life after he killed a woman while driving drunk. Both men arrive at the same time, and both stories let Flanagan explore redemption and corruption in parallel.
Father Paul’s Real Identity
The big twist is that Father Paul is not who he seems. He is actually the island’s elderly monsignor, restored to youth after being attacked during a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. His attacker is a pale, winged creature he calls an Angel, though the Angel drinks blood and dies in the sun. Father Paul uses the creature’s blood during Holy Communion, seeming to cure members of his congregation of illness and restore their youth while strengthening their faith in what they believe is a miracle.
Flanagan tied this vampire mythology directly to Catholicism. He told Gizmodo, “The parallels between drinking the blood of Jesus and what I was reading in Dracula were unavoidable.” He also drew a parallel between bloodlust and addiction. After the Angel turns Riley into a vampire, Riley refuses to give in to his thirst. In Episode 5, he takes Erin Greene (Kate Siegel) onto a boat and lets the sunrise burn him alive, proving to her what is happening on Crockett Island.
Faith As A Weapon
The show goes further than vampire mythology. Father Paul’s congregation becomes bloodthirsty after the Angel’s gifts cause chaos in the church. The priest loses control to Bev Keane (Samantha Sloyan), who decides that only Catholics will be saved by God. She and her followers then attack the island’s non-believers as Crockett Island burns around them.
Flanagan uses Keane as a warning about faith corrupted by those who want to use it for their own ends. Her hypocrisy is shown repeatedly, especially in her treatment of Sheriff Hassan (Rahul Kohli), whose Muslim faith she disrespects before later mortally wounding him.
How The Show Holds Together
What makes “Midnight Mass” work is that Flanagan balances heart, tragedy, and horror without losing the terror. The vampire story carries real weight because the stakes are personal. The show’s horror is not just about monsters in the dark; it is about what happens when faith stops being a comfort and starts being a command.
“Midnight Mass” couldn’t be made today because of how Netflix has changed.
Flanagan said as much about the show’s production. He suggested the streamer’s current direction makes a project like this harder to pull off now. That makes the show’s existence feel like a small miracle.
The Legacy Of A Small Miracle
“Midnight Mass” is a horror miniseries that stands with the best of Flanagan’s work. It is a fresh take on vampire mythology, a warning about faith corrupted, and a story about the cost of believing too hard. Five years later, it still holds up.
The show is a reminder that horror does not need to be simple to be effective. Flanagan found a way to make a vampire story feel new by tying it to real questions about belief, community, and the people we trust. The result is a show that rewards repeat viewing and still feels dangerous today.
The show’s themes remain relevant. The idea that faith can be turned against its own people is not a historical curiosity; it is a live wire. Flanagan’s version of the vampire story is not just a monster movie. It is a meditation on what happens when people stop asking questions and start demanding answers.
Key Facts Box
- Show: “Midnight Mass”
- Network: Netflix
- Release Date: September 2021
- Creator: Mike Flanagan
- Lead Priest: Father Paul Hill (Hamish Linklater)
- Lead Prodigal Son: Riley Flynn (Zach Gilford)
“Midnight Mass” is a minor miracle that didn’t burst into flames. It is a horror miniseries that earned its place among the best the streamer has ever put out. Five years on, it still stands.
Source material: “5 Years Ago Today: Mike Flanagan Gave Netflix One Of Its Best Horror Miniseries,” TVLine.
Get the Notebook.
The day's best stories and every fresh verdict, in plain English, in your inbox by seven. One email a day, no more.