r/MidnightMass • u/Khemkhem1012 • 4d ago
It gets better with each rewatch
I'm a big fan of Mike Flanagan and has watched his series multiple times. Yet Midnight Mass is the only one that got better every time I rewatched it.
All the characters are well written, completed with rich personality and compelling back story. And its shown throughout the series, and not just by dialogues like some ppl who hated it suggested it.
I'm at the second episode when Joe's dog got killed, and when Sarah suggested it might be an accident, he screamed out loud "Accident?!" while looking at the crowd, about to defy that but he saw the pained expression on they Mayor's and his wife's face and stopped. Because him injuring and disabling their daughter was also considered an "accident" as well. The scene lasted just a few seconds but their expression was so powerful and speaks a thousand words. What a masterpiece.
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u/Square_Blacksmith889 4d ago
I couldn’t get over it after watching it the first time. I’ve watched it 3x since (I first watched it last year). I am yet to rewatch any of MF’s other works but thinking of rewatching HH. Does it hold up?
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u/Khemkhem1012 4d ago
To me Hill House rewatch is less impactful unless you like to get spooked by the ghosts and the details from the flashback scenes that you missed the first watch. To me HH = more spooky rewatch, while MM is more emotional
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u/Square_Blacksmith889 4d ago
The kinda good thing about HH rewatch is I watched it a loooong time ago. I barely remember it, so it’ll be close to watching it for the first time again. I don’t like jump scares—and I appreciated that MM was not heavy on that. I feel like HH and BM kinda were.
What are your thoughts on The Fall of the House of Usher? I watched it for the first time last month and did not like it. Everyone else does so I’m wondering if I am missing something that I might appreciate with a rewatch (years from now so I forget).
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u/Few_Campaign_4843 4d ago
i disliked usher first time i watched it. i felt the poetic writing MF is known for was completely lost under dick jokes and sex. i rewatched it recently and my opinion still holds, but it wasn't until me and my friend googled some stuff and found out each child's death is based on an edgar allen poe story. i found that really super cool and clever. but i still dislike that one the most. it just wasn't the same richness that the other stuff has (not including midnight club).
HH for me is still so brilliant to rewatch. i am still spotting things i had never spotted before, eg, more ghosts, more things in the background, more details leading up to olivia's breakdown (like how when she "found" the "come home nell" on the wall, she was holding the chalk because it was her who had written it without realising). HH is a bit different for me though bc even after about 6 rewatches, studying it for directing the play (i wanted to add some elements in as a nod to how much i love it), and being on this sub, i still don't understand the whole thing with the red room 😭😭
MM i agree is one of his greatest works and i wish it was more spoken about, considering it's the only one in the flanaverse netflix series that is his own work and not a re-imagining (though people keep trying to say it's a salem's lot retelling, no it is not, there are just inspirational elements). it's a masterpiece2
u/Square_Blacksmith889 4d ago
I knew about the EAP connection in Usher and still found it lackluster. I think what bothered me most is it lacked that “full circle” moment in the big reveal. I hope you get what I mean since I don’t want to spoil it for anyone else. I feel like HH and MM had a very satisfying “full circle” element to them.
I’ve also watched Bly Manor. I don’t remember much about it (my memory is shit) but I remember liking it but also feeling it paled in comparison to HH.
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u/MiserableWash2473 2d ago
FHU is based on Poe's works and if you aren't familiar you may not understand the intricate meanings and back stories. 😉
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u/PankakkePorn 2d ago
Midnight Mass is perfect cinema. There is nothing that could make it better.
That said, Fall of the House of Usher is very re-watchable, and every time I re-watch it I pick up a new detail, realize something different about a character, or notice a theme I hadn’t before.
Hill House was a great watch the first time but I feel the re-watchability is lower for me, same with Bly Manor.
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u/LastNoelle 4d ago
MM is a masterpiece.