Mike Flanagan continues to channel his love of Stephen King into a miniseries that's actually better than most King TV screen adaptations we see. I wasn't totally won over by his _Haunting of Hill House_ and haven't bothered with the follow up series yet, but this is in a totally different league.

_Midnight Mass_ is absolutely steeped in thematic material. This could be a bit much if it didn't sit so well alongside the characters, the writing and the narrative. The series has hell of a lot to say about religion but it's never coming down for or against it. It allows each character's religious beliefs (even if they have none) to let us understand them and what their faith means to them.

I highly recommend going into this knowing as little as possible. Suffice to say that there are horror elements which creep in and it certainly fits into the classic Stephen King story mould. There are twists which are telegraphed from the start (if you notice [spoiler]the actors in old-age makeup in the first episode[/spoiler] then it's a bit obvious where things are going) and some which are much more subtle.

But the show really shines through the performances. Just about every episode has at least one scene which is completely mesmerising. It's not afraid of letting it's characters have discussions and letting us be there for the whole thing. More films and TV could benefit from this approach. I need to highlight Hamish Linklater in particular as doing an incredible job.

If I have any criticism it's that the visuals are a little frustrating. The series has that weird "modern" undersaturated look with minimal lighting which leads to things looking a bit flat. This is offset by some gorgeous cinematography and strong editing.

Also, Bev is the worst.