Hermeneutics, homiletics and horror TV: Reading Midnight Mass through a ‘wordy’ liturgical lens

Abstract

Midnight Mass, Mike Flanagan’s horror miniseries, engages with profound spiritual and philosophical questions about existence, deploying an unconventional approach of extended personal testimonies and interpersonal dialogues. The show harkens back to television’s roots by featuring lengthy, sermon-like speeches that challenge hegemonic power structures and normative ideologies. Key characters like Erin, Hassan and Riley deliver rhetorical disruptions through extended monologues that vocally resist religious and societal oppression. By centring stories from marginalized communities often relegated to the periphery of popular culture, Midnight Mass taps into horror’s ability to re-conceptualize ‘monstrous’ identities. It positions audiences to empathize with the oppressed, encouraging them to defy dominant ideological norms. The series’ talky, homiletic style enables a deconstruction of Catholic dogma and socially ingrained prejudices.