One of Mike Flanagan‘s most loved horror shows on Netflix secretly drew inspiration from an obscure but underrated Stephen King show.
It is well-known by now that Mike Flanagan often draws from Stephen King’s stories, even in shows and movies that are not direct adaptations of the author’s works. Everything from The Haunting of Hill House to Oculus has traces of Stephen King’s work, revealing how much the King of Horror has influenced one of the greatest horror directors of modern times. Owing to this, it should not be surprising that another one of Mike Flanagan’s Netflix shows, which is not a direct Stephen King adaptation, was also heavily inspired by a forgotten Stephen King series.
The Netflix horror show in question is one of the few Mike Flanagan series that does not serve as a direct adaptation of any literary works. Interestingly, though, Stephen King’s shadow still looms over it in a fascinating way.
Mike Flanagan’s Midnight Mass Was Heavily Influenced By Stephen King’s Storm Of The Century
Responding to a viewer’s question (via Tumblr), Mike Flanagan revealed that Stephen King’s Storm of the Century was in his mind when he wrote Midnight Mass. Like Midnight Mass, Storm of the Century is an original series. Its original teleplay was written by Stephen King himself, which was later published as a book before the show’s release in 1999.
Here is Mike Flanagan’s full statement:
I adore STORM OF THE CENTURY. Absolutely nodded toward it a few times, including (and especially) the Sheriff’s office in the convenience store. The town meeting sequence of STORM is the finest scene of its kind I’ve ever seen, and I definitely had that in mind a few times while writing MASS.
Even though Storm of the Century is not as popular as other mainstream Stephen King stories, the King of Horror, too, has cited (via The NY Times) it as one of his favorite TV projects of all time. A closer look at Storm of the Century and Midnight Mass highlights why many viewers cannot help but find parallels between them and how Mike Flanagan might have drawn inspiration from the Stephen King project.
Both shows initially unfold in a seemingly quaint island town that is cut off from the rest of the world. In both, a charismatic figure suddenly emerges and offers miracles to people who are in desperate need of faith. However, it soon becomes evident that the miracles come at a terrible price, leading to many moral arguments surrounding religion, faith, addiction, and morality.
When it comes to the mechanics of the overarching “monsters” in both shows, they are significantly different. However, as Mike Flanagan pointed out in the Tumblr answer, Storm of the Century also has an iconic town meeting sequence, like Midnight Mass, where the people get together to confront the moral implications of their decision to ensure communal survival over individual conscience.
Storm Of The Century Is One Of Stephen King’s Most Underappreciated Shows
The fact that Mike Flanagan himself has heavily drawn from Storm of the Century should be a strong enough reason for all horror fans to check it out. Another solid reason would be that Stephen King considers it one of his favorite TV projects. What makes Storm of the Century even more special is that it is one of the few Stephen King shows and movies originally written directly for TV rather than adapted from one of his previously published novels.
The show seems to perfectly capture how Stephen King’s writing talent extends well beyond the page. Over 25 years after its release, though, Storm of the Century remains one of the most underappreciated Stephen King TV shows.
However, after Mike Flanagan‘s success with Midnight Mass, it deserves a chance to be rediscovered and remembered as one of Stephen King‘s most compelling and thought-provoking works on the small screen.
