10 Movies Like Midnight Mass

10 Movies Like Midnight Mass

Mike Flanagan’s Midnight Mass is all about horror, religious allegory, and dysfunction in a tight-knit community, and these movies are similar.

You Are Reading :[thien_display_title]

On its surface, Midnight Mass is about variations of Good versus different types of Evil, but beneath that simplistic analysis, it’s an allegory about the dangers that come with the permeation of self-righteousness in all its many forms. The latest limited series from Mike Flanagan uses religion and skepticism to great philosophical effect amidst the backdrop of a small island community, separated from the mainland and ripe for the sewing, of faith or of doubt.

The people of Crockett are desperate for change, and they’ll take salvation and redemption in whatever form it comes in, even if after a while, the sacrament begins to taste suspiciously of pennies. These other titles, some –but not all– of them encompassing the horror genre like Flanagan’s series, explore his themes in the same unflinching, morally transparent, and artistic way.

10 The Night Of The Hunter (1955) – Available On Prime

Robert Mitchum stars as an enigmatic preacher who comes to town intent on charming one of its widows with his laconic temperament and hooded eyes. As he gets to know her and her two boys, all isn’t what it seems with the mysterious stranger, and it’s clear that he has more on his mind than the Passion of the Christ, though it might be just as bloody.

The Reverend Harry Powell is both a religious fanatic and the kind of dangerous monster that might exist in the pages of Grimm’s fairytales. Like Father Paul Hill, he acts as the root of a cautionary fable about false prophets who garb their greed in the cloth of the clergy. Like some of the scariest moments in Midnight Mass, The Night of the Hunter’s frights are subtly sinister and methodically macabre.

9 The Devil All The Time (2020) – Available On Netflix

Primarily the long opus of a dysfunctional family in the Appalachian region of the United States, The Devil All The Time finds one young man trying to undo the sins of the past, and in so doing prevent the cycle of violence he cannot seem to escape. A silver-tongued preacher, played with oleaginous charm by Robert Pattinson, only further cements his belief that hypocrisy governs the church as it governs the land.

Tom Holland’s Arvin Eugene Russell is not unlike Riley Flynn, a man not without fault but who is committed to protecting his loved ones from corruption the only way he can. Reverend Preston Teagardin presents himself as a friend but soon proves to be a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

8 The Rite (2011) – Available On Prime

When a young seminary student travels to Italy to learn exorcism from experts in the practice, he meets the intriguing Father Lucas, who has his own unique philosophy about exorcism, the occult, and demonic forces. The young man begins to alter his perspective, preventing him from acknowledging the priest’s true intentions.

Some disturbing horror movie moments from Anthony Hopkins as Father Lucas lend credibility to this story based on “actual events” about a priest’s supposedly true documentation of possessions in Italy. The philosophical discussions between the student and his mentor admirably echo the sort of long theological debates held between Father Paul and Riley Flynn.

7 Thirst (2009) – Available On Prime

Like a true man of the cloth, Sang-hyun tries to put others before himself, offering to be the guinea pig for an experimental vaccine that eventually goes awry. The young priest acquires an insatiable thirst for the blood of humans, which he tries to contain through faith and prayer. Unfortunately, the comatose patients all around him at the hospital ultimately prove too tantalizing.

Like Father Paul Hill, Sang-hyun tries to fight off his animalistic nature but eventually surrenders to it. Park Chan-Wook’s protagonist doesn’t view it quite like the “gift” of a higher power, however, and so cannot rationalize why he’s compelled to feed, left to simply contemplate his punishment as he slowly descends into madness.

6 There Will Be Blood (2007) – Available On Netflix

There are moments in There Will Be Blood when Paul Dano’s Reverend Eli Sunday becomes so fanatical about his need to be recognized in the eyes of oil tycoon Daniel Plainview that he actually contemplates violence. But why would he care what Plainview, a capitalist who robs farmers of their land for next to nothing, thinks of him?

In Midnight Mass there are characters like Beverly Keane who, like Rev. Sunday, feel that after living a life of pious asceticism, they should be the ones benefiting from a glorious bounty, not forced to watch while the atheists around them are rewarded. One of the pillars of the series is its emphasis on faith versus realism, in which the indefatigable belief of Father Paul’s congregation is put at odds against atheist Riley Flynn and the more skeptical members of Crockett. In the end, self-righteous fury proves as much a dark threat to any community as the supernatural.

5 Vampires (1998) – Available On Prime

If Midnight Mass had been a comedy, it might have looked a lot like John Carpenters’ Vampires, a cheeky ’80s vampire-slaying adventure that isn’t afraid to take shots at the church. For all its camp, it manages to promote some interesting concepts about the relationship between Good and Evil amidst all of its leather dusters, cheesy one-liners, and fake blood.

Like Midnight Mass, it features a priest, since disgraced and transformed into a vampire, who holds a small town in his frosty grip. Reverend Valek is not a run-of-the-mill monster, but someone who genuinely believes that the townsfolk of a dead-end New Mexico town would be better off joining his ranks of the undead, and though he lacks the gentility of Father Paul, he makes a good argument.

4 Jonestown: Paradise Lost (2007) – Available On Prime

To fully appreciate how a community can become blind-sided by religious fanaticism if both its faith and its leaders are not critically examined, Jonestown: Paradise Lost examines the circumstances surrounding the mass murder of hundreds of followers of Reverend Jim Jones, a sensational cult figure who managed to convince them to cut ties with their families and self-isolate in a jungle village. They eventually sacrificed themselves in what became known as the Jonestown Massacre.

Towards the middle of Midnight Mass, the entire tone of the series shifts, and the small parish on Crockett Island starts to feel increasingly cult-like. Father Paul makes increasingly strong calls to violence and informs his followers that God will “make them do terrible things” in his name, and they must be ready to do them. Only characters questioning how far that line of logic goes have a chance of survival.

3 Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986) – Available On Prime

Rarely has a priest been able to vacillate so completely between benevolence and malevolence as Reverend Kane in Poltergeist II: The Other Side, which follows the Freelings after their first adventures with their haunted house. Just when they think they’re free of the Beast, it strikes again, from an unexpected place.

Trusting the words of a priest isn’t the same as wanting to trust them, and a divisive figure like Rev. Kane proves that not all vestments are inhabited by God-fearing men. That he turns out to be “under the wing” of an otherworldly entity matches a subplot in Midnight Mass, though Flanagan’s series doesn’t make the reasoning so cut and dry.

2 Fright Night (1985) – Available On Prime

The ’80s classic vampire movie Fright Night presents a simple setup — a young man moves into a sleepy community and becomes romantically linked to a single mother, until her son begins to question if the reason her suitor might be so perfect is supernatural in nature.

Fright Night is about an alluring vampire, yes, but it’s also about how irresistible evil can seem when it comes over asking to borrow sugar. Like Father Paul, the tall, slinky-dark-haired Jerry seems to be everything a nice young man ought to be; a thoughtful lover, a substitute father, and a friendly neighbor. He’s the most effective villain because he could be almost anyone, and anywhere.

1 Rosemary’s Baby (1968) – Available On Prime

When a young woman moves into a new apartment with her new husband, life seems idyllic, especially when they prepare to welcome their first baby. But his mysterious new associates, who seem particularly focused on the child growing inside her, force the frightened mother to wonder if her baby might truly be the spawn of Satan.

The slow-burning, methodical pace of Rosemary’s Baby is not unlike Midnight Mass, which takes its time to reveal its horrors. They become relentless and inevitable, as though the fate of Crockett Island is sealed, save for the bravery of a few stalwart souls who can see them for what they are.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/best-movies-like-midnight-mass/

• 9 Ways Peggy Carter Is A Better Captain America Than Steve Rogers According To Reddit

• 10 Stephen King Novels That Should Be Adapted For A Modern Audience

• 15 Most WTF Things Batman Did To Robin

• An American Pickle 10 Funniest (& Most Ridiculous) Quotes From The Seth Rogen Comedy

• 10 Best Venom Story Arcs From Marvel Comics

• 10 Movies Where The Supporting Actor Stole The Show

• 10 Cutest Animal Movies To Watch On Netflix If You Loved The Secret Life Of Pets