The Netflix Series That Should Make Religious People Uncomfortable

This story contains spoilers for the Netflix series Midnight Mass.

The Exorcist is a film I’ve long loved because it raised the bar not just for horror, but also for movies that explore questions of faith and doubt, good and evil, life and death. I know all of its beats by heart, but when I recently rewatched the 1973 classic, the ending hit differently. The movie concludes with an exorcism, naturally. Chris MacNeil has brought her daughter, Regan, to a host of medical professionals in a desperate attempt to save her from what turns out to be a demonic possession. But the only person who can save the girl, it seems, is a priest. The camera lingers on the mother’s exhausted face as two priests close the door to her daughter’s bedroom and go to work.

This is a trope in supernatural horror. Catholics, and priests in particular, signal to both characters and audiences that. In light of new details about real-life horrors such as and the colonial violence of , the dissonance of seeing priests portrayed primarily as genre heroes is striking. What about a horror movie where the Catholic Church supplies not the good guys but monsters? This sort of story would speak a necessary truth and deliver a morally urgent message about the dark side of faith.