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Reviews
Midnight Mass (2021)
Mike Flanagan's tropes are starting to show
A slow start, and a disastrous failure at sticking the landing. Hamish Linklater's performance is the only reason I kept watching this, and it is excellent, but otherwise the show is a massive disappointment.
The first two episodes feature so much animal murder--a blatant effort to pull at the heartstrings. The justification for having any animal murder in the series at all is flimsy and makes me think that Mike Flanagan just really hates cats specifically; there is absolutely no reason to not use other types of animals in this story, animals that people don't usually keep as pets, except for cheap emotional manipulation. They actually have to spend some time explaining why there are so many cats on the island. Meanwhile, the series could have done without the animal murder altogether, as they only really serve to draw out an already slow start.
The horror creature of the series is used to underline the dangers of zealous religious faith, but the show fails to follow through on this point. When the show gets going, it spends a lot of time underscoring the dangers of zealotry and organised religion, yet no one has learnt anything by the end. A waste of time. The ending is just about defeating the big bad evil monster in a manner that has been seen before, in much better takes on this horror creature. Anyone who allowed themselves to be led astray has their choice taken away from them, and there is no catharsis for the viewer. You watch these people do horrible things in the name of their religion, and then the problem is solved for them at the end whilst they keep on singing praises. Absolutely unsatisfying. I had actually hoped for a bad ending where the villain prevails, and it would certainly have been more fulfilling and more poignant than this mess.
After watching Hill House and Bly Manor, this director's tropes are becoming obvious and played out. There's the silently watching person in the dark jump scare, the drawn-out scenes of two characters monologuing at each other about something supposedly profound, the addict struggling with himself, and repeat until finished. Except Midnight Mass lacks both the horror and the heart of Hill House. I found these tropes outplayed by the time Bly Manor came out, and I don't understand why Mike Flanagan is hailed as a modern master of horror when Midnight Mass is just a rehash of the same tropes, done poorly with a new coat of paint.
Cat People (2021)
Scottish Fold is NOT AN ETHICAL BREED
I had to stop five minutes in. Watching someone talk about how much they love cats while showing off their scottish fold, a breed of cat that lives in constant pain due to its characteristic ears (which is why they are so 'calm'), was just deeply upsetting. If you truly love cats, you'll research what breeds are healthy and which aren't. The last thing we need is for more people to desire this unhealthy breed and encourage breeders to perpetuate this damaging gene.