Zach Gilford and Hamish Linklater star in the follow-up to “The Haunting of Bly Manor”
Netflix has released their newest supernatural horror series, “Midnight Mass” from the creator of The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor, just in time for spooky season and it makes sure to bring the chills. Midnight Mass, Netflix’s latest production under Mike Flanagan, focuses on an isolated island community that begins to experience miraculous events after the arrival of a mysterious priest, portrayed by Hamish Linklater. Friday Night Lights Zach Gilford joins Flanagan regulars including his wife Kate Siegel, Henry Thomas, and Rahul Kohli, as Riley Flynn, the prodigal son returning to the island after a tragic accident. The standalone season released all seven episodes on September 24th, 2021, and the first episode brought more questions than answers.
The Prodigal Son returns
The first of seven episodes kicks off with “And The Grass Won’t Pay No Mind” by Neil Diamond, as the camera sweeps the remains of a horrific car accident. Paramedics are on the scene and red and blue lights shine as the camera reveals a red eyed, drunken Flynn, as well the true victim of the crash, the teenage Tara-Beth. He’s barely got a scratch, and begins to pray for forgiveness while looking at the smashed in head of the victim of his drunken decision. In the four years since being sentenced behind bars Riley has lost his faith and can’t sleep, plagued with images of the battered Tara-Beth every time he lays down.
Zach Gilford and Hamish Linklater
Photo Credit: Netflix
The theme of guilt weighs heavy throughout the premiere episode of Midnight Mass, with Riley having enormous guilt in what he’s done, his ruined reputation and career, and the effect it’s had on his mother, father, and younger brother. With a heavy heart Riley takes the ferry back onto his hometown of Crockett Island, a town of 127, and is greeted with a warm welcome from his mother. She isn’t the only one expecting someone, as is Bev Keane, played by Sarah Sloyan, who is awaiting the return of Monsignor Pruitt, who has been away for two weeks on a trip back to the Holy Land. Instead of the Monsignor, she meets Father Paul Hill, who will be replacing him temporarily while Pruitt regains his strength at a hospital on the mainland.
The return of Riley to his hometown of Crockett Island isn’t the only point of interest in this small, isolated community. An oil spill has ruined their economy, causing most of the townspeople to leave and seek greener pastures. The lone exception being Riley’s former love Erin Greene, played by Kate Siegel, who has made her way back onto the island, pregnant and seeming like she’s hiding out from a bad situation. His younger brother and friends are spooked one night by something with glowing white eyes. The kids in town claim to see a giant winged creature in the sky that the townspeople plays off as an albatross. Finally, a raging storm sweeps the island and Riley spots someone running on the beach that he believes to be the Monsignor – but the person’s limbs looked longer than that of a human, and ran faster than any 80 year old should be able to. The day after the storm, the Flynn family discovers the beaches littered with the dead bodies of feral cats up and down the shoreline.
All seven episodes of Midnight Mass from creator Mike Flanagan are now available on Netflix, as well as prior supernatural horror limited series “The Haunting of Hill House” and “The Haunting of Bly Manor”.
About the Author
David Carson
Student Writer – Spring 2021
