Mike Flanagan is quickly becoming a go-to horror director for Netflix. His adaptations of Gerald’s Game and The Haunting Of Hill House quickly became favorites on the streaming service. Flanagan has been open about his love for the works of Stephen King. After adapting the previously mentioned Gerald’s Game he went and made an adaptation of Doctor Sleep. Not only can it be intimidating to adapt a Stephen King book but to take on the challenge of making a sequel to Kubrick’s The Shining. With his newest series Midnight Mass, Flanagan has shown that he is taking inspiration from the master. So, without further ado, here are 5 Stephen King movies like Midnight Mass!
Spoiler Alert: These 5 Stephen King movies like Midnight Mass could spoil plot points in the series. You’ve been warned!
Early on in Midnight Mass, a massive storm shuts down the island. This is reminiscent of the original King work Storm Of The Century. A giant storm comes to an island town that shuts everything down. While the town is shut down an evil descends upon its residents. In Midnight Mass we only see the evil entity once during the storm as it strolled along the beach. Riley runs out into the storm thinking it was Monseigneur Pruitt. If given the choice like the residents in Storm Of The Century I wonder if those on Crockett Island would have given up one of their children just to get this “angel” to go away.
A story where a man brings an evil, monstrous, vampire to a small town and it begins to feed on the residents, turning them into blood-lusting vamps. Seems like a story we’ve heard before. In Salem’s Lot, the same thing happens. In the Tobe Hooper television adaptation, we saw a feral vampire that reminds us of the creature from Nosferatu. Here we have more of a winged demon that is able to control itself a little more but the result is the same. As it infiltrates the small town it gains more of a hold on the residents before it starts to spread out further into the cities. While nothing is for sure by the end of Midnight Mass we are led to believe that everyone can rest easy.
Another King original film directed by Mick Garris. In this film, a couple of shape-changing creatures are trying to feed off some of the local population in a small town. The one thing that is holding them off is an army of stray cats that begins to surround their house. In Midnight Mass we find another small island that is overrun with feral stray cats. While they don’t get to put up much of a fight against the creature. The winged vampire spends the first few nights on this small island feeding off all these cats. We get a quick glimpse as the teenagers row out to the island to do what teenagers do.
In this pilot for a TV series, a janitor is hurt in an explosion at “The Shop” which causes him to slowly age backward. This shows up in Midnight Mass as well. It’s revealed that the creature has been giving its blood to be used in the communion at the church. Those that start taking it, find that their bodies start to regenerate in strange ways. A wheelchair-bound girl learns to walk again, a woman with dementia regains her mind, and other residents such as the Flynns start to grow younger. Gray hair begins to go away, wrinkles fade, and some such as Pruitt completely revert to their younger selves. Once they realize what is causing their youthful resurgence they run in horror but for some, it might have been worth it.
Technically not a movie yet but it has been in the works for a little while. For a time Mike Flanagan was even attached to adapt and direct it. You have to imagine that during that time he picked up a few things. In the story, a preacher begins to show off as a faith healer. As his crowds grow the secrets of how he does such miracles are exposed. This lines up perfectly with Midnight Mass. Taking a controversial step to help people but pushing it through a religious lens in order for people to accept it. Themes that run in both stories. In Midnight Mass it’s pushing the narrative that Pruitt believes the winged being to be an angel rather than a vampire. In the book, it’s using electricity to help people but finding out that the power comes from an evil source. Both stories also deal with the protagonist dealing with their past in one form or another that continues to haunt them.
And that’s our list of 5 Stephen King movies like Midnight Mass. Did we miss any? Let us know in the talkbacks.