sir_guinglain | Midnight Mass

After a very long night last night I'm not able to sleep tonight, so have finished watching Mike Flanagan's Midnight Mass on Netflix. I'm not sure whether it was the towering work of art its admirers have hailed, but I don't think it was the damp squib its detractors have pointed to either. I could sense that it was full of references to other works even if I didn't know the works themselves, as it had the taste of something cooked from cherished ingredients, but suspect it displayed its citations with flair. Its low-key blend of horror strands and likeable performances was winning, dialogue varying the kitchen sink with the prophetic to the deadpan realisation of self-delusion. Satire's claws are out too, for church and congregation and for capitalism and its critics alike and they are cold; though I fear cat-lovers might be the most distressed.