Director/Writer/Producer Mike Flannagan is Netflix’s go-to guy for horror. This is his 3rd show for the platform and it again shows off his carefully crafted takes in the genre.

Midnight Mass is about a small, isolated island community in the US (I’m not sure where–there are no distinctive accents I picked up on). The kind where you take off and never come back when you turn 18 or you live there forever. There are only a few hundred people who live there so the families who stay tend to have roots that go way back. There’s comfort in the community, its slow pace, the simple way of life, and its tiny parish.

We first meet Riley Flynn, who comes back home after spending 5 years in prison for drunk driving and killing a young woman. He has to start his life over and has no other place to go. At the same time, a new priest named Father Paul comes to take over the parish from the Father who has fallen sick and is getting treatment on the mainland. Riley’s traumatized by what he did and his family has been coping with the public judgment they’ve received since he’s been away. His younger brother wants things to go back to normal, his mother tries to make that happen, and his father is the most outwardly ashamed of his son. Riley has a lot of questions and doubts about himself, but when he discovers his first girlfriend has moved back recently, he’s able to reconnect with her and open up in ways he can’t with other people.

At the church, Father Paul is welcomed with open arms by Bev Keane, a devout believer in Christ who has worked under the previous Father for years. She’s full of faith and ready to cast judgment on anyone in her line of sight. Shortly after Riley and Paul arrive, strange things start to happen on the island, which is quickly followed by miracles. The miracles are attributed to Father Paul and this creates a fervent renewal of faith in the community, one Bev is ecstatic to see and is eager to foster.

Midnight Mass is a slow burn. That helps and hurts the show. Riley is set up first and that’s done really well. His integration back into his family is awkward and painful, as is his dealings with guilt and shame. Father Paul is more of a mystery: where did he come from and how much does he know about what’s going on? Instead of getting intense right away, Mike Flannigan plants the seeds at the very start–something is off here, quite a few people are dealing with their own trauma and the community has its own scars and divisions bubbling about. There’s more here than just Riley and the side eyes he gets. Paul’s introduction is odd and there’s something off with him. He’s a charming guy and Bev is such a powerful and cunning presence that she often takes attention from him. As each episode oozes along, crumbs are dropped down, gathered up and it all comes together in beautiful chaos.

Knowing anything more than that will ruin things too much. It’s not a scary show. It’s unsettling and creepy. There’s a constant and growing feeling of paranoia and dread that occasionally fades away, only to come back with a new understanding that makes you think this isn’t going to end well. The escalation of horror and intensity is really well done. But I wouldn’t call it horror until the end, it’s much more driven by drama. Religion takes center stage from the very beginning and the growing secret of the bizarre events drives the story.

My biggest problem with the show is that it feels too long. Some episodes could use a few minutes cut out. There might be enough to cut to make this a tighter story by cutting it back by an entire episode. There are a lot of monologues that feel like sermons even when it’s not taking place in a church. Since the show is so steeped in Christianity (if you’ve attended mass before I’m sure you’ll get some flashbacks) that isn’t too surprising. As the monologues start to increase in number, I couldn’t shake the feeling of “how much is this necessary?” But, it doesn’t feel out of place and the biggest and most important ideas in the show come from these moments. That said, it can feel like the characters aren’t talking any longer, the writer behind the words becomes the speaker. That’s a disappointment as it takes away from being engaged with what’s being said and comes off as overwriting.

But the positive side of this is that the payoffs are awesome. When stuff happens in Midnight Mass, it pops off. There is some absolute mayhem at the end of this story that combines with fantastic plot beats and character arcs that are completely satisfying. The last 2 episodes in particular are phenomenal. For everything moment I didn’t like, I saw something that I did—and more–and that’s what kept me engaged and coming back for the next episode. I just had to know what was going on and how it was going to end. For me, these keystones in storytelling are really strong.

My final praise is aimed at the cast. Strong and believable performances from everyone, the highlight for me being Kate Siegel, Zach Gilford, Samantha Sloyan, Rahul Kohli, Annabeth Gish, and Hamish Linklater. Everyone gets their moments to shine in this dark and brooding tale. I got attached to a few characters and their path between faith and organized religion is the most personal and unique aspect of the show. Can it be a little stuffy and slow? Yes. But it’s ambitious and doesn’t pull any punches so I think Midnight Mass succeeds in conveying complex ideas that will make you think about it for a while.