I’ve been tricked into watching a scary thing
for someone who watches like an hour of scripted TV per day, I sure seem to be writing about TV a lot
If you ever need proof that opposites attract, there is one key difference between my husband and I that couldn’t possibly be more opposite: our feelings about ghosts and whatnot. I am against ghosts, while on more than one occasion in high school Noah and his friends trespassed into old, abandoned houses, practically inviting a murderer to murder them.
This frankly disturbing quality he has (not being scared of scary things) translates into him enjoying creepy shows and movies. Whereas I, a reasonable person, am still haunted by the few minutes of The Shining that I watched, through squinted eyes, at a sleepover 26 years ago.
After 17 years of marriage, Noah has discovered my soft underbelly, a weakness he can exploit: my love of a good story. He has tried to convince me that The Haunting of Hill House is just really well written, that Bly Manner is practically word for word Henry James, and Midnight Mass stars Matt Saracen so how scary could it be.
Still, I held off his cavalcade of reasoning until two nights ago, when he pulled up Midnight Mass and hit play real quick “just to see,” and now here I am two episodes in.
In episode one, there’s an extended, beautifully cinematic walk-and-talk scene that is also a deeply moving exposition on the human struggle for purpose. In episode two, there’s an extended one-on-one conversation about The Meaning of Things between a priest and an atheist that treats both points of view with incredible compassion.
Obviously, I can’t comment on the show as a whole since I’ve not seen even half of it, but darned if it isn’t really good writing. Curse you, Mike Flanagan! I can’t help but be drawn in, despite multiple instances of both seeing a weird face AND a guy standing there!
I am, as the kids say, shook.
This post makes me happy, because I once read that dating algorithms could predict with perfect accuracy whether a couple would be compatible based on a single criterion: whether you like horror or not. I thought to myself, “That is insane. That can’t possibly be right.” And you and Noah are providing a counterexample! So thank you for vindicating my intuition.
And for the record, I also hate horror and was traumatized as a child when I walked into the laundry room while my mom was folding laundry and watching TV at the exact moment in Chinatown when Roman Polanski slits Jack Nicholson’s nostril. (Not horror, I know, but still traumatizing!) But based on your recommendation I will check out Midnight Mass.
And yes, Matt Saracen is adorable.
I don't like horror either, although my daughter does, so just because she enjoys it, I'll sit through something like "Nightmare on Elm Street" with her to be a good sport. Which, by the way, had terrible writing!