Rather than dipping back into another chapter from his Haunting anthology, writer and director Mike Flanagan opted to take on a different kind of horror tale for his next Netflix series, Midnight Mass. News about the project remained pretty limited throughout its production, though we did learn early on that the cast will be made up of stars from both The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor, while also bringing in new blood like Friday Night Lights vet Zach Gilford and Legion alum Hamish Linklater. Now, we have our first big look at the horrors awaiting us with Midnight Mass' first trailer, seen above.
One of the most successful elements of this first extended look at Netflix's Midnight Mass is that it gets under viewers' skin largely through its editing and sound design, as opposed to showing off a lot of visually scary bits. For the most part, there aren't a whole lot of truly disturbing sights within the promo, save for a sink full of (presumably) blood and people looking very distressed. I'm not 100% comfortable with large groups of hyper-religious island inhabitants carrying portable lights in a vigil-esque manner, since that just invokes Wicker Man feelings, but it's not necessarily a nefarious group. (Unless everyone is nefarious.)
Okay, so it's not like we're experiencing an overflow of new information about Midnight Mass after seeing this footage, which definitely makes up in vibes what it lacks in synopsis-building. The new Netflix show's official premise is that an island community "experiences miraculous events and frightening omens" after an enigmatic priest shows up. Hamish Linklater is the one donning all the priest gear, and he certainly looks like he'd cause a few ominous natural disasters like the storm that demolished part of what we now know is called Crockett Island.
But it doesn't so much explain exactly who Zach Gilford is portraying, nor who all the other characters are, such as those played by the Haunting franchise actors such as Rahul Kohli, Samantha Sloyan, and Kate Seigel. (Any time you see a sonogram in a horror trailer, that most definitely is not good news for the mother, nor sensitive viewers.) Midnight Mass will also star Hill House's Annabeth Gish and Henry Thomas, along with Starry Eyes' Alex Essoe, Battlestar Galactica's Michael Trucco and more.
Get your rosaries ready, because Midnight Mass will debut on Netflix on Friday, September 24, which is right in the midst of the 2021 Fall TV premiere rush, which is admittedly light on horror series outside of Netflix's upcoming slate. Stay tuned for more info about both this series and Mike Flanagan's other Netflix horror with Midnight in the title.
