Jayden Johnson explains how Midnight Mass portrays religion and horror through the use of dark visual coloring
In Mike Flanagan’s Midnight Mass one of the most haunting scenes occurs when one of the main characters Father Paul monologues about fear and pain while a vampire is eating another pastor in the background, in the scene the core themes of the show being horror and religion is enhanced by having it be darkly lit and showing Father Paul being unaware of what is happening to the other pastor, the visuals of the scene also enhances the shows theme of religion by having Father Paul praying in the church at night.
The show is about Riley Flynn, a man who after being haunted by a drunk driving accident, goes back to his hometown on Crockett Island. There he meets a pastor named Father Paul who helps him with finding purpose in his life. In the show the writer and director Mike Flanagan explores the themes of how religion can affect someone’s mindset in both positive and negative ways. Ultimately, Flanagan shows that religion can lead to people being brainwashed by its ideas. The show uses the idea of religion as not necessarily something that the audience has to believe in rather it makes you question the true motives of the characters and what their true goals are.
One of the characters in the series that we see having another motive is Father Paul throughout the series he is seems rather confused at the people who go to his service but to his followers they see him as being trustworthy figure however it is later revealed him and another character Riley were killed by a vampire however the show doesn’t really mention it again outside of a flashback. The show doesn’t really explain how his disappearance affects the main cast in any substantial way. While the show midnight mass portrays the themes of horror and religion it would not be as effective if it didn't do so through its careful attention to visuals and lighting.
One of the ways midnight mass uses visuals to portray religion and horror is through scenes where the benefits of religion are put into question.
There are multiple scenes that have religion being put into a questionable angle, one example is a scene where Riley meets Father Paul for the first time and he tells him about can god help his life but the way that it is shown it almost looks like he is being manipulated into giving god a chance, the scene uses visuals to make the viewer feel a sense of unease with what Father Paul is saying. In one magazine article an author by the name of Alison Keele notices that the show doesn't really portray the concept of religion in a positive light it doesn't dive deep into the concepts on how does the show mix horror and religion in a more efficient way, another article written by Daniel Fienburg explains that the show most of the horror comes from the idea of how religion isn’t necessarily used as something that could scare someone rather it uses the concept of mixing horror and religion as something that the writers needed in order to make the show feel more interesting and more unique than what it actually is. I also feel that they somewhat downplay the religious aspects of the show just so that they can make it more themed around drama and horror.
Another way that midnight mass uses its visuals to convey its messages of religion and horror is through some of the shows more scary moments one scene in particular shows the death of Father Paul who after encountering a vampire and being forced to drink it’s blood, he de-ages to being 30 years younger gets poisoned by a woman named Bev and dies. This scene despite it’s outlandish premise shows that despite the locals seeing him as a hero Father Paul seems rather oblivious to what is going on behind the scenes and it feels that he let Bev manipulate him into doing all of theses things, the writers also didn’t really do a good job at trying to make a good villain because the show makes you want to believe that Father Paul is the only villain when really it’s the vampire’s and Bev.
Television reviews also explain how horror is used in the show however many don’t point out how the visuals play into it. Many TV reviews state that one of the show’s biggest strengths is how Mike Flanagan blends in the ideas of religion with horror but what they fail to bring up is that most of the show's better elements come from its visuals. Most of the drama and horror elements feel either too over dramatic or just forced it feels like most of the time the show tends to drag when it focuses on theses elements, one review written by Aja Romano states that “Is this really Horror” this was exactly my thought when watching the show it feels less like a horror series and more like a show about religion with minor horror elements. She states that “Even though Midnight Mass does still contain plenty of overt horror elements, I think the series actually pushes Flanagan quite far outside the horror genre.” Despite it not really being that good in my opinion the show does a much better job at being a show about religion rather than a show about horror.
One piece of complicating evidence in the show is that I don’t really understand is the idea that the show doesn’t really mix the religious and horror elements really well because it feels forced and that the writers don’t really execute theses idea’s properly, and it often falls flat with how they utilize it in a more positive and understandable way. One scene that is a prime example of this is the scene where Father Paul gets killed by a vampire although it is a very terrifying scene it doesn't really add anything to the story other than it being a pointless jump scares. The scene also doesn't really get mentioned in the series again and it felt like the writers didn’t know how to make his death seem warranted.
In conclusion all of the conversations surrounding Midnight Mass’s themes of The negative effects of religion on a person’s mindset is a very complex topic that is hinted at and expressed multiple times throughout the series, in my opinion I think that religion has the power to both help and harm a person because depending on who it is they could either be influenced either in a positive or negative way. I think that this research is important because believing in a specific religion can be really good for a person. It can also lead to them being more close minded about other people's morals and beliefs, which is why people need to seek religion for themselves and not base it on what they learn from others.
Jayden Johnson, Expanded Media Major at Bloomfield College
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