Midnight Mass

TV review by Martin Brown, Common Sense Media
Midnight Mass Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 13+

Religious-themed horror features some gore.

Netflix Drama 2021
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Parents say

age 15+

Based on 5 reviews

Kids say

age 15+

Based on 5 reviews

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A Lot or a Little?

The parents' guide to what's in this TV show.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Midnight Mass is a horror mini-series about a small Christian community where strange and amazing things begin to happen. The series has some of the same creative team and cast as The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor, which makes it feel like a horror anthology along the lines of (a less campy) American Horror Story. The major difference is, where the previous two series were based on classic books (Bly Manor is a take on Henry James' The Turn of the Screw), Midnight Mass is an original work. The series is more of a suspense horror than a slasher. Violent acts, which include a car crash and violence toward animals, mostly happen off-screen and are intended to be unsettling rather than shocking or terrifying. The series deals with religious themes, including a lot of discussion of Christianity and a subplot about the one Muslim family in town.

Community Reviews

Karlee D.
Karlee D. Adult
October 29, 2022
age 13+

Religious extremism meets Vampires = great story telling by Mike Flanagan

This is an excellent show! My husband and I just watched it and plan to show our teens. Past Mike Flanagan productions Haunting of hill house and Bly Manor also on Netflix were for older teens and adults due to sex and extremely terrifying imagery and gore. However this show Midnight mass can easily be for 13 years old and up if they can handle the sight of blood. This show is a slow burn and it should be noted that while in the first few episodes it appears to not be violent at all please note that especially towards the final episode the sight of blood is ALOT (trying to be as spoiler free as possible here) however that being said the show on a whole again is not overly gory. There is one scene in the final episode where we see someone slice there neck open it is fast and dark . This show deals with religious extremism and vampires . We see vampires feed on others , we see vampires drink blood. It talks alot about what happens when we die. I for one see these themes in the show as important conversation starters to have with your teens. There is no sex , no nudity . The word fu** and Sh** are used a few times. There is hate talk against Muslims but again there is an important conversation on hate here to be had with teens. Overall a great conversation starter for families with teens and also a fantastic scary mystery.

This title has:

Educational value
Great messages
ServantofAllah
ServantofAllah Adult
September 24, 2022
age 16+

The beginning was fine. The story is good but I was disappointed not only at animal death, but animal suffering. This ofcourse is a personal opinion, the showing of dead animals in films is still okay but of suffering or dying animals is unacceptable.

See all 5 parent reviews

What's the Story?

MIDNIGHT MASS begins with Riley Flynn (Zach Gilford) returning home to the small island community of Crockett after spending years in prison for killing someone while driving drunk. Disillusioned with his Christian upbringing and struggling with the idea of redemption, Riley moves in with his parents and little brother and reconnects with his childhood girlfriend, Erin Greene (Kate Siegel), who is eight months pregnant and also a recent returnee to Crockett. When a new priest, Father Paul (Hamish Linklater), also arrives on Crockett and takes over at St. Patrick's Church, he seems to set off a series of strange and amazing events of biblical proportions.

Is It Any Good?

Like a lot of contemporary, allegorical horror, this show tells a story that's more about its characters and themes than about jump scares and gore. In fact, it would be tough to find another series that unravels so patiently. Midnight Mass takes the time to establish its characters and setting before even getting to the freaky stuff, which allows it to deal with bigger themes like religion and redemption.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about horror. What makes Midnight Mass a horror story? How does it compare to other horror films and TV? Does it intend to scare?

  • What are some of the themes in Midnight Mass? What does it have to say about small communities? How are Riley Flynn and Father Paul mirror characters of one another? How do the other characters compare and contrast to one another?

  • What do you think is going on in Crockett? What is the cause of the strange occurrences? What does the series seem to say about miracles? About redemption?

TV Details

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