‘Midnight Mass’ review: A terrifying meditation on humanity, faith and the afterlife

A lovely-looking and deeply-unsettling show, Mike Flanagan’s new creation draws you in gently and keeps you in a devilish vice

Mike Flanagan (The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor) has described Midnight Mass as his most personal work. The unsettling series is an inquiry into the double barrels of faith and addiction — both of which Flanagan has struggled with. The setting, a remote island, also draws from Flanagan’s life as he spent his childhood on a lonely little island.

.

The show opens with the arrival of two people to Crockett Island. Riley (Zach Gilford) returns home after serving four years in prison for killing a teenager while driving under the influence. The other arrival is a young priest, Paul Hill (Hamish Linklater), who comes as a temporary replacement for Monsignor Pruitt. The aging parish priest has gone on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.