I first discovered the horror genre as a teenager. My mother had a vast library of books, which housed many genres. She loved Westerns, Thrillers, Mysteries, Sagas, Literary Fiction and Romance. As a result, I chomped through all these books, trying to discover which genre was my favourite. Some I could not get into and others I side stepped after reading just one book. In all this exploration, I stumbled across Salem’s Lot by Stephen King. As a fifteen-year-old, I did not know who Stephen King was, but decided on a whim that I’d give this book a go.
To say that I was riveted would be an understatement. King’s mastery was in the way he weaved the plot, capturing his unsuspecting reader within the web of the multiple strands of his tale, building slowly, leading one inexorably towards the crescendo of the climax. In the years that followed, I became a devotee. Any new book he released, I was the first in line to buy. Cujo, Carrie, Misery, The Shining, Pet Cematary were read and reread multiple times over. Until, one day, I woke up and was over it.
As a student of English Literature, I had been exposed to Milton and Chaucer, Shakespeare and Donne, Eliot and Conrad, and my tastes started veering towards more literary works. That’s not to say that I discredited King’s writing. Despite his mass appeal, there was something almost reflective in his books, an exploration of evil that transcended its pedestrian credentials. But I’d had enough horror for a while, and for many years after, I actively avoided reading the genre.
With horror movies, I dipped in and out, watching something only if it was universally lauded. Sometimes, these movies lived up to the hype, but more often than not, they were a disappointment. The horror was predictable, the gore disgusting, the plots wafer thin. Somewhere within me, I still yearned for the richness of King’s writing, the multiple layers of plot and character development, the slow build of dread that one was sure would lead to a satisfying denouement.
‘Midnight Mass’, a television show on Netflix, has satisfied this craving. It had popped up a few times as a choice on my main screen, and each time I’d scrolled past, expecting it to be just another run of the mill limited series I would yawn through. It’s not until I heard another indie writer extol its merits on her podcast, did I think to give it a chance.
Set on a small island in a fishing community that has fallen upon hard times, ‘Midnight Mass’ introduces the various characters who will drive the narrative forward. A recovering alcoholic, a newly pregnant mother, parents grappling with the return of their prodigal son, a young priest who has replaced the old respected monsignor in the community church, are some of the many interesting and nuanced personalities that inhabit the story. The horror is almost entirely missing in the first few episodes, except that one can sense it simmering beneath the surface of every innocent interaction, every strange encounter.
Yet, interestingly, when the horror is revealed, it is not so much about the monster that has come to the island piggy backing on an ostensibly good person. It is about the monster that resides in each one of us. All humans are capable of great good and great evil, and really, what it comes down to is the choices we make.
Religion anchors this show, as it explores how often people use it as a crutch to explain away their misdeeds, quoting from the scriptures, granting themselves absolution as they do so. The ‘othering’ of those who are not like themselves, the selfishness of those who accept the status quo blindly, the conscious muffling of the conscience even in the face of evidence that all is not well. This is Salem’s Lot for the modern times.
There is a gentle exploration of what death means to us. Is there a Heaven? And what does it look like to you?
There are good people who do bad things, and bad people who do good things, too. But above all, there are people who make the choice to do a bad thing and keep doing it, despite knowing in their bones that it is evil they are committing. Cloaked in the garb of religion, given free rein, characters are stripped down to their base natures. There are sheep willing to be led by wolves, and then there are wolves in sheep’s clothing.
If all of this seems vague, it’s because I don’t want to give any spoilers. Suffice to say, this to me, was the horror I’d been looking for. It wasn’t about blood and gore (although there is that, too) but an exploration of what evil truly is. Given the right circumstances, the carte blanche to do whatever, without the fear of consequences, would our morality assert itself to guide us correctly?
I am not an atheist, and there has been some discussion that this show promotes atheism. While I can’t speak to that argument, as someone who is spiritual, I’d like to think that this show acts as a moral compass. It leads us to examine ourselves, what we are without the scaffolding of religion and the guidance of words written in a book thousands of years ago.
This dialogue-heavy, slow build of a horror series is not for everyone. Yet, to me, this is the best kind of horror, harking back to those Stephen King books I’d read as a young girl, incorporating all the elements I’d enjoyed then and still do, to this day. Because horror at its heart should be a mirror to society. One that is held up to show what is possible with moral degradation, selfishness, greed, and the lack of understanding and compassion. So, if you enjoy delving deep, examining and reexamining who you might be, what the world around you is becoming, and where it may end up, watch ‘Midnight Mass’. I highly recommend it.
Credits: AI Image created using starryai.
