HIPPIELUVN'S HALLOWEEN HORRORTHON 2026

[hippieluvn]

I've begun watching MIDNIGHT MASS on Netflix and with 7 episodes this will take a week or so to complete

[Murfreesboro]

Oh, I saw that at my son's house a few years back. Very interesting, very provocative. Michael Flanagan? IIRC. He did so much good stuff on Netflix, but after the first two series (The Haunting of Hill House, Bly Manor), nothing else was ever released on dvd. I'd love to get his Fall of the House of Usher, too. He himself was so frustrated by Netflix's refusal to release his later series that he actually encouraged people to pirate them. He's afraid that his work will disappear if it's held captive by one corporatuon.

Funny fact about Midnight Mass: you'd think it would be set during Halloween, but it's actually set during Lent and culminates at Easter.

When I saw Midnight Mass, I thought he was using the horror genre to meditate on mortality.

[hippieluvn]

Oh, I saw that at my son's house a few years back. Very interesting, very provocative. Michael Flanagan? IIRC. He did so much good stuff on Netflix, but after the first two series (The Haunting of Hill House, Bly Manor), nothing else was ever released on dvd. I'd love to get his Fall of the House of Usher, too. He himself was so frustrated by Netflix's refusal to release his later series that he actually encouraged people to pirate them. He's afraid that his work will disappear if it's held captive by one corporatuon.

Funny fact about Midnight Mass: you'd think it would be set during Halloween, but it's actually set during Lent and culminates at Easter.

When I saw Midnight Mass, I thought he was using the horror genre to meditate on mortality.

As a faithful Catholic, I'm openminded but sure hope this show isn't sacrilegious

[Murfreesboro]

Ah, well, it's possible you'll find it so, though my older son told me that a friend of his, an ordained Methodist minister who met his wife in Div School, found it fascinating. The two of them told Colin that they had found much to discuss about it. That doesn't mean they agreed with all of it, just that they found it provocative and worthy of discussion. I'm not necessarily on board with what I take to be its ultimate statement. But it's intriguing for sure.

[Murfreesboro]

Oddly, perhaps, I think the most orthodox horror movie I've ever seen is The Exorcist. Despite all the religious doubt and terrifying imagery, the priest actually triumphs in the end, and that film does confirm Christian belief through a Catholic lens. When I showed it to my daughter for the first time, after she'd graduated college, she remarked that the most terrifying thing about it, to her, was the way modern society had blinded itself to the possibility of what was clearly happening to the child.

There's a lesser-known film, also about exorcism, called The Rite, which also confirms Catholic belief through the story of a priest who is doubting his faith. It's a good movie with some well known actors--Anthony Hopkins, Rutger Hauer, eg.

One of my favorite movies on this topic is The Exorcism of Emily Rose. It's primarily a courtroom drama based on an actual case of an exorcism that resulted in the death of the victim, and not everybody likes it much. But it's one of my favorite scary movies because of its ambiguity and eerie atmosphere. In the end it's kind of left up to the viewer to interpret its meaning.

[hippieluvn]

Oddly, perhaps, I think the most orthodox horror movie I've ever seen is The Exorcist. Despite all the religious doubt and terrifying imagery, the priest actually triumphs in the end, and that film does confirm Christian belief through a Catholic lens. When I showed it to my daughter for the first time, after she'd graduated college, she remarked that the most terrifying thing about it, to her, was the way modern society had blinded itself to the possibility of what was clearly happening to the child.

There's a lesser-known film, also about exorcism, called The Rite, which also confirms Catholic belief through the story of a priest who is doubting his faith. It's a good movie with some well known actors--Anthony Hopkins, Rutger Hauer, eg.

One of my favorite movies on this topic is The Exorcism of Emily Rose. It's primarily a courtroom drama based on an actual case of an exorcism that resulted in the death of the victim, and not everybody likes it much. But it's one of my favorite scary movies because of its ambiguity and eerie atmosphere. In the end it's kind of left up to the viewer to interpret its meaning.

Yes, I've seen and enjoy these films. You might find the following piece of interest. Fr. Ryan G. Duns, SJ on the Theology of Horror, the Dark Transcendent, and Why a Jesuit Reads Midsommar for Prayer: https://legendfiction.substack.com/p/ry ... heology-of

[hippieluvn]

Another day off in NYC with nice weather so spent most of the day in my beloved Central Park—walking, reading, and just enjoying the outdoors—and then made my way over to the Church of St. Ignatius of Loyola for Mass followed by a new Broadway show PARANORMAL ACTIVITY

[hippieluvn]

As a faithful Catholic, I'm openminded but sure hope this show isn't sacrilegious

As I watch this show, I've found the following piece helpful: https://www.americamagazine.org/arts-cu ... ew-241723/

[Murfreesboro]

I tried to post yesterday, but for some reason the post wouldn't take. I've read both the articles you recommended and really enjoyed them both. That second one did a great job of analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of Midnight Mass. I hadn't mentioned that Flanagan us a lapsed Catholic, but I guess it's pretty obvious. Like the playwright Eugene O'Neill (on whom I wrote my master's thesis), he never really escaped his Catholic upbringing.

For the record, I was raised Episcopalian but have attended my husband's Missouri Synod Lutheran church for decades. Our kids were raised in that Synod, which is very conservative theologically. For some reason I can't quite explain, over the years a number of my good friends have been devout Catholics. It's kind of funny, since I'm a Southerner, and that denomination is not as strong here as in some places.

The first article you linked referenced both Midsommar and The Wicker Man. I really dislike both of them. The Wicker Man actually shocked me the first time I saw it. I disliked the way the protagonist was duped into his own execution because of his heroic effort to save the child he believed was endangered. It"s harder for me to pinpoint why I dislike Midsommar, but the whole cult just seemed disgusting to me, and the protagonist is subsumed by them.

[Murfreesboro]

Did you enjoy the Paranormal Activity play?

[Murfreesboro]

Sorry. Repeat

[Murfreesboro]

Btw, those are gorgeous photos of Central Park and the church interior. Thanks for sharing them.