7 - Mike Flanagan's Midnight Mass

Drawn to Darkness

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Welcome back to Drawn to Darkness. In this episode, we take on Mike Flanagan’s Midnight Mass, a seven-episode horror drama that’s equal parts theological meditation and vampire apocalypse. Set in a dying island town with economic and emotional wounds, the show explores what happens when miracles start to occur—at a terrible cost.

We dive deep into the show’s literary devices, biblical allusions, long monologues, and that slow burn of dread. We also fangirl over gorgeous Riley and hate-watch Bev Keen’s every move. This episode also asks some biggest questions: Who deserves a miracle? Is it pro-Catholic? And seriously—why would anyone think that thing is an angel?

This one’s for the horror lovers who like their vampires sacrilegious, their theology terrifying, and their tears existential.

Trigger Warnings:

• Suicide
• Miscarriage
• Fatal car accidents
• Animal cruelty (cats and dogs)
• Religious trauma and anti-Catholic sentiment
• Cult dynamics and mass suicide

Palate Cleanser:

What We Do in the Shadows (TV series & movie) – If Midnight Mass drained your soul, this vampire comedy will resurrect it.
I ♥ Huckabees – Caroline’s weird, philosophical comfort film. Existential dread, but fun.
Smash Mouth’s “All Star” translated into Aramaic and back into English. Check it out!

So many recommendations!

If you liked Midnight Mass, try:

• The Haunting of Hill House and Bligh Manor, Fall of the House of Usher (Mike Flanagan’s best work)
• The Exorcist (original film & lore)
• Salem’s Lot by Stephen King, Interview with the Vampire and 30 Days of Night – Vampires + isolation = terror
• Hellbound (Korean Netflix horror about angels, cults, and death countdowns)
• “Hell is the Absence of God” by Ted Chiang (for a more literary pairing)
• The Crucible by Arthur Miller
• The Reach (a beautiful Stephen King short story–not horror!)
• Fleabag (for the Hot Priest)
• Mystic Pizza, ET, Friday Night Lights – for young actors from Midnight Mass
• Jaws (for island insider outsider dynamics)
• 7, scream X-Files (all referenced in Midnight Mass)
• The Perfect Storm
• Erin Brockovich (for that oil spill class action energy)
• Passages podcast (especially their Twilight season – very funny snark)

Homework Assignment:

Jaws Summer special! And the week after that we'll discuss Heaven’s Gate: The Cult of Cults (HBO docuseries). Meanwhile, start reading Carrie by Stephen King and down the track Catch and Kill by Ronan Farrow.

If you delight in what you fear, you’re in the right place. Like, subscribe, rate and review. Tell a fellow horror nerd, follow us on Instagram: @DrawnToDarknessPod or email us at [email protected]. We’ll see you in two weeks.

Special thanks to Nancy Azano for providing our cover art. You can find her on Instagram @nancyazano.

And Harry Kidd for composing and recording our opening score. His Instagram is @harryjkidd and you can also find him on Spotify. https://open.spotify.com/artist/43BiFkkOHykD8n9g4z0Qd7