Rowan5215: Mike Flanagan Ranked

Rowan5215 10.21.20	one thing I wanted to say in the list but did not get around to: victoria pedretti is just insanely fucking good
YoYoMancuso 10.21.20	1 is 1 and 9 is 9 good work Kate Bosworth tho
wildinferno2010 10.21.20	Whoa, this is sick. Gonna give this a good read later. Haven't seen everything yet, but I feel like Bush and Oculus are are a bit low. Agreed with Before I Wake though, that one kinda sucked
Rowan5215 10.21.20	I thought Bosworth was good, acting is never really a problem in any of these, but the character she was playing was so fucking ridiculous and contradictory I had no idea what to think of her by the end lmao inferno if it makes up for it, the first four here are more or less full marks and everything up to Hush is an 8/10 at worst. I really fucking love this mans work
JeetJeet 10.21.20	"Bly Manor hate is a bannable offense" Ban me then cus I'm like 5 or 6 episodes in and that shit is incredibly mid and underwhelming.
JeetJeet 10.21.20	but yea Dr Sleep is top 1 tho.
Rowan5215 10.21.20	if you watched episode 5 and you're still underwhelmed I can't help you lmao hits button banned
gschwen 10.21.20	I was hoping we were talking about the Orioles pitcher. RIP
YoYoMancuso 10.21.20	lol i just think she's hot @rowan
porcupinetheater 10.21.20	Damn everyone here putting Dr. Sleep over Hill House?
Atari 10.21.20	Sweet list! haven’t seen all of these yet but I’m completely sold on Flanagan after his work on Hill House/Bly Manor
Rowan5215 10.21.20	I remember when Doctor Sleep first came out I was so baffled by the lack of enthusiasm it got. seeing it start to surge after it went on Netflix and whatever has been so gratifying lol @Atari the first 6 on here are all very worth watching imo
porcupinetheater 10.21.20	Just wish he didn’t feel the need in Hush to cram in that hokey ass scene where her projection talks to her. Total artificial sweetener and cheap attempts at audience sympathy that undercuts the entire premise, and is pretty condescending to anyone watching who’s actually deaf. Like, it’s such a great suspense picture otherwise, but that one little completely unnecessary bit almost throws the whole thing off the tracks
Rowan5215 10.21.20	I agree partly because of what I said in my write-up of it lol. it's such a solid movie but the fact that that's the big reveal scene is so incredibly frustrating, especially because she's had like 4-5 great opportunities to just stab him in the neck throughout the whole movie already but apparently it never crossed her mind
BlushfulHippocrene 10.22.20	Beautiful list. Agreed for the most part about Ouija; its an obvious step-up from its sequel(?) but, yeah, apart from the acting and aesthetic, found it boring and forgettable. I'd probably actually put Hush above Occulus, though it's been a while since I've seen either.
Rowan5215 10.22.20	Hush is dumb and so much fun, Oculus is spookier and a bit less fun I could go either way on that, depends on my mood really
wildinferno2010 10.22.20	I remember Hush being intense af, actually
rockandmetaljunkie 10.22.20	Haven't seen 3, 4, and 7, but i really like all the rest of this catalog. I think ouija is his weakest work. Occulus kills it. One of my favorite films from the past decade. Flanagan is a very capable director. I really liked doctor sleep too. It amazed me how that film has so many adversaries.
budgie 10.22.20	i dont like this listing at all
neekafat 10.22.20	"it's the film I'd show any big-brain film bros who don't believe that terrific framing, acting and editing can overcome a dumb plotline any day." Simple doesn't mean dumb smh
budgie 10.22.20	ya rowan is a bad take factory
wildinferno2010 10.22.20	"It takes the protagonist of Hush more than an hour for the idea of killing the man who's terrorising her home to occur to her." This is honestly not a thought I had while watching Hush, so don't know if I'd take the same thing from the movie. I really need to watch Dr. Sleep anyway
Rowan5215 10.22.20	I am very worried for budgie's heart irl with being constantly mad, as he is " Simple doesn't mean dumb smh" you are correct. dumb means dumb tho, and parts of that movie are dumb. again this is a thing I like about said movie
neekafat 10.22.20	That's fair, some things about it are a stretch. I fuckin love that movie tho, especially as someone trying to write low budget horror stuff it's a huge inspiration
Rowan5215 10.22.20	yeah like I said I will def always hold it up as an example of just quality moviemaking. it's almost Flanagan's spin on the first Evil Dead in that the plot is basically non-existent but the camerawork, sound editing, acting are all top notch
porcupinetheater 10.22.20	I mean if paper plot, with cool visuals, sound, and fun camp performance qualify Evil Dead comparisons, could throw hundreds of horrors at the wall, there. Up to and including three quarters of 70s Italian horror (give or take your leniency with the acting part of the equation)
Rowan5215 10.22.20	I meant that comparison in the most general sense for Flanagan haha. very very few films are filmed as well as Evil Dead is which the thing that really sets it apart (the first one anyway, 2 is a different beast entirely) I will definitely throw OG Suspiria in there if we can ignore the acting part though lmao
porcupinetheater 11.01.20	Woah, just finished Bly Manor, last episode has some decent character work (when it's not over-expositatin'), but the whole back half of the series was anemic as fuck.
JeetJeet 11.01.20	Not sure what that means but it felt like a gigantic slog full of cliche scares and incredibly bland characters with boring dialogue. Flanagan loves the whole "Lets put a ghost somewhere in the background of the frame" and it becomes predictable by the 3rd episode.
TalonsOfFire 11.01.20	This is how I’d rank his work too, except Ouija would be a few places higher. The directors cut of Doctor Sleep is one of my favorite horror movies of the decade, it’s something special. 2019 and 2018 were such great years for movies, especially horror.
Emim 11.01.20	This the guy that grew whiskers on his chin-egan?
TalonsOfFire 11.01.20	Bly Manor was a bit meandering and not really scary besides the lady of the lake, but it's a great story and the last two episodes really bring it home.
porcupinetheater 11.01.20	I don't know, the last two episodes feel incredibly over-expository, like it expands into new territories to explain things that didn't necessarily need explanation and requires emotional investment to work where it hasn't already established the investment (re: Bly origin story), and grinds the momentum where the emotional pay-offs ought to lie to a screeching halt for a solid hour. Last episode handles the relationship and sadness really well, but the epilogue decides to over explain shit way too much, once again, and keeps hammering the same beats over and over again without really any development on them. Not being creepy ain't the issue, it's that it shoots its own narrative momentum in the foot and saps the emotional impact of it quite a bit. Winds up feeling like a really iffy script salvaged by some excellent performers. Hope Flanagan bought Pedretti and Amelia Eve a sizable gift basket for that one
porcupinetheater 11.01.20	Also pretty sure Flora's like 40 at the end if you follow out the timelines lol
wildinferno2010 11.02.20	Finally watched dr. sleep. It was pretty good, and there was waaay more plot than I expected which was neat. I enjoyed it, and the acting and character's were pretty solid, but the story was sprawling and weird and not always in a good way. Might've been better as a mini-series, even with the 2 and a half hour run-time, I didn't feel like anything was adequately explored.
CruelDouglas 11.02.20	I might say Gerald's Game or Doctor Sleep is his best. I'm not a big fan of Oculus or Flanagan's take on Hill House. I always thought Hush was better than people gave it credit for.
Rowan5215 11.02.20	don't disagree with porc on the Bly origin. the dialogue in episode 8 was painful and went way out of its way to explain shit we didn't see (want to see how Dani survives? nope haha here's the origin of every single ghost that you easily could have figured out for yourself). Kate Siegel and Catherine Parker are both great actors but both of them were totally miscast Episode 9 was fantastic tho. the slow burn of the Lady of the Lake taking Dani was scarier than any jumpscare shit, and Victoria Pedretti was so good in it. I'm whatever on the narrator reveal (maybe cutting between the older and younger versions of everybody at the wedding was a little corny) but the whole framing device was worth it for that last shot
porcupinetheater 11.02.20	Word to that, Pedretti fucking killed it all over this series, and I hope she's in everything forever from here on in. The chemistry she and Amelia worked together is extraordinary, how lived in that relationship feels for what amounts to about a half hour of a screen time, if that. And do agree on the last shot; feels a bit out of place tonally with the ghost side of the story, but totally in sync with the relationship, which just adds extra weight to the "it wasn't a ghost story. It was a love story," thesis line. So really wish Flanagan didn't add the extra dialog bit about how she leaves the door open every night, because it totally telegraphs what you're already primed to look for. Feel like these long miniseries run times have Flanagan feeling like he needs to explicitly explain every little bit of nuance to death (felt that way with the last episode of Hill House, too, saved by the rest of the series before that feeling way more tonally consistent than Bly Manor do). Double for the every character gets a POV flashback to exactly which character they represent, which was already painfully obvious beforehand, and it just feels like this weird tonal tug-of-war between wanting to end the story on a genuine note (which the last shot, on its own, does do, agreed.), and trying to make sure there's no room for misunderstanding about the story being told, which also leaves no room for nuance. So again, thank God Flanagan knows how to get some killer performers who can sell his more troublesome impulses like nobody's business
porcupinetheater 11.02.20	Oh wow that was long tl:dr Actors awesome, doin' Mike a real solid for some corny shit
Rowan5215 11.02.20	"And do agree on the last shot; feels a bit out of place tonally with the ghost side of the story, but totally in sync with the relationship, which just adds extra weight to the "it wasn't a ghost story. It was a love story," thesis line." I don't know, Dani's boring-simpboy-fiancee haunting seemed pretty explicitly to be a PTSD/guilt thing and not like a literal ghost so in that case the last shot rung pretty true for me. agreed about telegraphing the hell out of it but - let's be fair - Flanagan didn't write or direct that finale so we can't pin it all on him like we did for Hill House finale haha. I mostly admire the restraint in pinning the "happy ending", if you can call it that, on a fairly subtle shot rather than a big reveal, it was beautifully done
porcupinetheater 11.02.20	Oh yeah, I do agree, feel like we’re arguing the same point. I feel like the ending shit is beautiful in isolation, just that the rest of the epilogue lets it down with an over reliance on exposition to make sure that the Audience Ain’t Confused! Even if Flora still looks about 25, given Amelia Eve was told by Rahul Kohli at a dinner that Flora was 17 before both of them spontaneously age 30 years through an actor change so there can be a supes emotional “where they used to be” flashback sequence. Jesus.
porcupinetheater 11.02.20	No doubt, but there’s an effective way and a less-than-that mode of gettin’ to the supes. That sentimentality’s pretty much a Flanagan touchstone at this point, but feel like he works it better in Hill House (at least until the last episode, when Dad trades himself in for a heartwarming family reunion in the Red Room (with Carla staring down Steve for some unearned tone management) before Steve goes down to the ghost Ensemble gathering at the stairs for a rendition of Do You Hear the fucking People Sing). Being part of the atmosphere’s all well and good and accurate, but it don’t mean it uniformly works. If there’s a third Haunting, hope Flanagan learns that not everything needs to be explained in excruciating detail
wildinferno2010 11.02.20	"If there’s a third Haunting, hope Flanagan learns that not everything needs to be explained in excruciating detail" Not that there was ever any doubt, but this is exactly why the shining > dr sleep
Rowan5215 11.02.20	yeah but part of Flanagan's sentimentality comes from a genuine love and concern for his characters which is something that Dickhead Kubrick would never understand. I find it quite moving especially when he clearly loves a character but they end up tragically anyway (see Karen Gillan in Oculus or Nell). but undoubtedly his sentiment can spill over into cheese which is how we get a Before I Wake it's a fine line basically
porcupinetheater 11.02.20	Oh yeah, I love his sentimentality in a lot of ways. Pretty unique for horror, and it’s nice to see a fundamentally optimistic voice gaining ground in a horror community in a pretty genuine way. Don’t think he’s found a way to sell that tone in a long form miniseries format convincingly, though. Like, every Flanagan piece has some corniness to it, that bit we’ve talked about in Hush with the mental projection monologue a prime example. But I feel like the shorter format sells the optimistic ending. Protagonist triumphs because that’s her character, fundamentally intelligent and still good (which is pretty unique in horror already). Feel like that’s enough. Most horror winds up at the very least adjacent to the script of a morality play, anyway. There’s enough pre-determined language, that unless something relatively new is being brought to the table (i.e. the likes of, say, Ari Aster), that it still walks a fine line between genre relevance and tonal coherency. Flanagan often wants to have his cake and eat it too, in that sense, and it often doesn’t work: shorter formats allow him the benefit of the doubt. Hush has a triumphant ending, but it’s because Maddie faced the situation and overcame the tribulations. It’s in and out, and works with that tone. His two Haunting series feel like they both go on long enough, that that natural optimism needs additional justification that ultimately winds up shooting itself in the foot and sapping his own message. And Kubrick is still a master of the visual medium. His Shining works, even without the nuance of the backstory. Haven't seen Dr. Sleep yet, so this is more an overarching comment - Flanagan ought to take some notes.
Rowan5215 11.02.20	Kubrick is absolutely a GOAT behind the camera, but it doesn't change that he thought abusing his actors and sucking out all the humanity from The Shining was the way to make a masterpiece. Flanagan if anything is the antithesis of that method; his actors clearly love him enough that they'll come back to work for him time and time again, and his love for the characters is occasionally overbearing, but more often I think just very human. it's kind of amazing that Doctor Sleep is as good as it is, but part of the reason why is that Flanagan isn't a proponent of the methods Kubrick used. anyone else making that movie without his love for the characters would have just made a boring-ass retread of The Shining that couldn't live up to the original; Flanagan critiqued it and addressed its flaws and reclaimed the things Kubrick chucked in the trash. that's pretty fucking dope "Flanagan often wants to have his cake and eat it too, in that sense, and it often doesn’t work: shorter formats allow him the benefit of the doubt." this, for sure I agree with. the reason the whole first half of Hill House was so good is the way it divided time between each major character and played to Flanagan's strengths in that way. once the plot really had to get moving in the present, after Nell's wake, it kinda becomes a mess (still love it tho). I think Bly comfortably could have been 7 or 8 episodes max and still been great, but it dragged on just that little bit too long. episode 5 and 9, though? worth the whole trip
wildinferno2010 11.02.20	"Flanagan critiqued it and addressed its flaws and reclaimed the things Kubrick chucked in the trash. that's pretty fucking dope" I don't know if I agree. I never got all the way through the book, so my understanding of the events of the book is pretty superficial and mostly based on the first hundred or so pages and Wikipedia summaries - but there isn't much in dr sleep that made me think that it was filling in any gaps left over from the shining (the movie). It even kinda irked me that it tried to explain the whole thing about the overlook Hotel, although that's probably more of an issue with Dr sleep the novel, though. I should probably read the books. Movie is probably intended to be more of a sequel to the original shining novel anyway..? But then the way they just throw imagery and characterisations from the Kubrick movie is a bit odd too. Idfk Anyway, I do appreciate Flanagan's love for his characters, that's a huge part of why I loved The Hauntings so much.
Rowan5215 11.02.20	there's a massive thing Doctor Sleep does that addresses what Kubrick cut out of his version of The Shining, and it's the fate of a major character right at the end of the book and what that says about that character. that's about as well as I can put it without giving anything away, but it's massive enough that King himself said Doctor Sleep redeemed The Shining for him - this is a significant statement if you know how much King despised Kubrick's Shining
Gyromania 11.02.20	Currently watching gerald's game for the first time
wildinferno2010 11.02.20	@Rowan I'm thinking of two changes I remember between the movie of the book, and I'm not sure which you're talking about. Assuming you're talking about the difference between book and movie Jack, that was a problem that I feel wasn't well addressed in dr sleep at all. Assuming it was the other one... ehhh it's probably not the other one. I've pretty much split the shining the book and the shining the movie in my mind, and I'm way more attached to the latter. I do know more or less why and how much King despised the movie too, but I've never really agreed with him about it. Always got the feeling he was just bitter because Kubrick changed a lot of the focus of the stort Edit: changed "former" to latter.
CruelDouglas 11.02.20	I very much agree that Doctor Sleep fixes Kubrick's Shining, which is something I never expected it to do. I think it's funny that original Shining book is perfect on its own and the sequel adds nothing of value despite being enjoyable in its own right, meanwhile I think the original Shining film fails on its own and desperately needed the sequel to make it feel whole.
Gyromania 11.02.20	Gerald's game was very good
Rowan5215 11.03.20	inferno yeah I was talking about movie Jack vs book Jack, specifically giving his book ending to Danny in Doctor Sleep instead. the reason it's so important is that book Jack is a complex but fundamentally decent person who gets corrupted by the hotel but redeems himself at the end by burning it down Kubrick completely stripped Jack of all his complexity and made it obvious he was crazy from the first second you see Nicholson grinning like a maniac. the hotel basically just teases what's already there out of him in the movie. seeing as Jack was a clear stand-in for King who was working through cocaine addiction at the time, it's not hard to see why King hated the movie so much; it cut out the character that was essentially his entire reason for writing the book Flanagan's Doctor Sleep reclaims that ending and through Danny brings some of King's original complexity back to the story and the hotel, which is why it's such a massive inclusion (the book of Doctor Sleep ends entirely differently and Danny doesn't die)
wildinferno2010 11.04.20	"the hotel basically just teases what's already there out of him in the movie." At the risk of needless extending an argument, isn't this how it is in the book, too, though? The movie does definitely ramp up Jack's craziness, but I've always thought that there's a lot of stuff implied in his character that's more substantive than just him being a madman. The way he reacts to his family even before going crazy is a lot more interesting than you're making out imo
Lord(e)Po)))ts 11.05.20	So is haunting of bly just the same shit as the haunting of other house
JeetJeet 11.06.20	nah its not as good nor does it have any redeemable qualities
Lord(e)Po)))ts 11.06.20	That's how I felt about the couple episodes of hill house i watched tbqh
porcupinetheater 11.06.20	Yeah, Bly Manor's tone is basically the last couple Hill House episodes stretched out for the whole series
porcupinetheater 11.06.20	Just watched Oculus last night, was not expecting that bleak ass finale after seeing so many of these other Flanagan things end on such bittersweet sentimental notes
Rowan5215 11.06.20	oculus ends with the ultimate fuck you. I love it "At the risk of needless extending an argument, isn't this how it is in the book, too, though?" I don't think so, no. book Jack is a complex, tragic figure with more than a little bit of King in his DNA, specifically a King worried that his cocaine addiction (which powered more than a bit of his insane 80s output) would also cause him to lose his family movie Jack is flattened out into the standard Nicholson character who you know is crazy from the second you see him. he doesn't really have many redeeming qualities, and even pre-hotel he's borderline abusive to his family. it also takes like, the tiniest bit of prodding to convince him to kill Wendy and Danny lmao. book Jack is basically slowly overtaken by the hotel for almost the whole time, and is still redeemed at the end when he fights it off long enough to save Wendy and Danny
Lord(e)Po)))ts 11.06.20	shining books and movie are both good. in the movie having jack mad to begin with works because it makes the movie more psychological, the shit jack sees could be manifestations of his madness. in the book you know for sure the hotel is big haunted. this very much alters the narrative. this also is a clever reconciliation for one of films number one failings when it comes to adaptations of books and that is that there just isn't enough time to tell the whole story or flesh out the characters the same way a book can. if the shining movie didn't make this change it would likely fail to develop jack the same way king does in the book and people would still complain.
wildinferno2010 11.06.20	Thinking about the ending of Oculus still upsets me a tiny bit :( @Rowan yeah idk, I guess we just disagree on this point. I wouldn't argue that movie Jack is a fundamentally good person like book Jack is probably intended to be, but I just don't feel like Jack was crazy pre-hotel. The way he acts reminds me a lot more of someone who is incredibly frustrated with and kind of resentful of his family - and abusive, yeah - and the isolation and probable Haunting of the overlook on top of that pushes him over the edge. And yeah, it doesn't take much nudging at all lol And anyway, I could buy that he was really trying to improve things with his family pre-hotel too, even misguidedly. None of these things are made clear at all in the film, and that's a big part of why it's so tense and unsettling. I can see why it might come off as shallow compared to King's Jack, but writing Kubrick's Jack off as just crazy is overly dismissive imo
Lord(e)Po)))ts 11.06.20	i agree with that, but i think the insinuation is that you can feel that there is a madness in him to begin with in the movie, that doesn't mean he's an irredeemable evil person right off the bat but more that the hotel serves as a catalyst to bring that side of him to the surface
Rowan5215 11.06.20	"shining books and movie are both good" yea I fundamentally agree with this, the reason I'm banging on about Jack in particular is to explain how book fans who felt shortchanged by his movie portrayal might find the end of Doctor Sleep so redemptive and cathartic. The Shining is still one of my favourite horror movies of all time tho. "I can see why it might come off as shallow compared to King's Jack, but writing Kubrick's Jack off as just crazy is overly dismissive imo" maybe, but I think if you cast Jack Nicholson in your movie in the 70s, your audience pretty much has a clear expectation going in that he's gonna be playing a crazy person. the movie might play coy about it for a bit, but the weight of expectation colours that movie so much, both before its release and after. like, how many people's mental image of The Shining is Nicholson swinging a bat and gibbering like a madman? whether or not Kubrick intended that is really beside my point
Lord(e)Po)))ts 11.06.20	tbf moments like that are almost always going to be the most memorable in virtually any movie that they exist in, i don't think that mental image sticks the most just because its nicholson and the 70s, i think it sticks because it's lit
Lord(e)Po)))ts 11.06.20	i just watched the first ep of bly manor and enjoyed it more than the first episode of hill house mostly because there are less nauseating faces in it
CruelDouglas 11.07.20	I think it's a bigger concern for Nicholson in the Shining for the time it was released because it came right off his most iconic role at that point having been in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. I've always had a love/hate relationship with Kubrick's Shining because I love it as a dumb crazy horror film with cool direction, but hate how it really squeezes out all the best aspects of the book. Thankfully, I think balancing Kubrick's Shining with Flanagan's Doctor Sleep makes me far less annoyed by Kubrick's Shining's flaws. Can't help but still think the ending shot of Kubrick's Shining is the dumbest moment in cinema history though, even detached from my feelings regarding the book.
CruelDouglas 11.07.20	I don't like Flanagan's Hill House because it took this weird and whimsical, yet deeply sad and pessimistic book and made it like...that.
porcupinetheater 11.07.20	Shout out to the Hill House ghosts, who all realized thanks to a display of familial love, they didn’t have to spend eternity hiding out in cupboards, they could like chill with each other. So they all gathered at the bottom of the stairs to say thanks to Steve and play him out with their company rendition of Do You hear the People Sing. Not that legless zombie bootlegger ghost, though, he can get fucked.
Rowan5215 09.26.21	gonna need time to settle but Midnight Mass is almost certainly top 3 here. dude went fuckin wild lmao
neekafat 09.26.21	Not really sure if Hill House will be my kinda thing, might check Midnight Mass tho. I'm just bad at TV in general
BlushfulHippocrene 10.26.22	Yes.
Shemson 10.26.22	Glad to see someone else enjoyed Bly Manor and Midnight Club :) Hill House is the best for me and Dr Sleep second for sure
TalonsOfFire 10.26.22	Doctor Sleep dir. cut (love almost as much as The Shining)>Hill House>Midnight Mass>Gerald’s Game>Bly Manor>Ouija: OoE>Oculus>Hush>Absentia>Before I Wake>Midnight Club I enjoy them all on some level!
combustion07 10.26.22	Absentia is easily one of my favorite low budget horror flicks. Absolutely love the atmosphere in that one. Agree on number 1. I don't know how I still haven't gotten around to Gerald's Game
porcupinetheater 10.26.22	Midnight Mass is Mid Ass That dual death monologue episode is the hokiest pseudo profound shit I’ve seen in a long time, just regurgitating r/atheism boards while asking the actors to look like they new holding back tears and bein so strong about it
Shemson 10.26.22	Yeah, I’m certainly atheist without going on about it but I thought Midnight Mass was a bit too ‘on the nose’, a bit too blunt with its message rather than focusing on good scares and tension. Still incredibly well made, just didn’t get as much out the story.
TalonsOfFire 10.26.22	I thought the complains about the monologues in Midnight Mass were way overblown, like yeah it's not realistic for people to talk that way but there's clearly a heightened quality to his movies and shows, and I thought they were mostly well written and acted. Some amazing scenes in that show, like Riley's death and the whole final part. Might have to rewatch.
porcupinetheater 10.26.22	Idk, it’s not that it’s a heightened reality, it’s that it puts so much weight on the import of its themes (and frequently forgets to be a visual medium in the process, save the occasional Flanagan special of a horizontal camera sitting up with a character when they get out of bed) when those themes seem like college freshmen having a debate in the cafeteria after their first lecture on existentialism for a philosophy GenEd
porcupinetheater 10.26.22	Hamish Linklater spanks ass tho
TalonsOfFire 10.26.22	Gerald's Game is kind of a heightened reality where I'm not sure it's explicitly supernatural, but that whole ending would've been bad if not for his artistic touch. I thought there were plenty of great shots, visuals, and filmmaking to Midnight Mass, and that weird green tint in a lot of Flanagan projects is finally gone too. I do remember thinking while watching that the dialogue was a bit much at times and indulgent, but mostly I think it served the characters well overall. I was a philosophy major in college so maybe I'm more of a sucker for philosophical/religious content in horror.
Gestapo 10.27.22	bly manor is the worst no contest