Mike Flanagan’s Midnight Mass: The Perfect Follow-Up To Ryan Coogler’s Sinners

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It’s unclear if a sequel to Sinners will happen, but if you enjoyed that film by Ryan Coogler, you should definitely watch one of Mike Flanagan’s top horror series.

This year, Sinners is the frontrunner for Oscars, earning the most nominations of any film. It’s a remarkable achievement for a horror movie, and after seeing it, it’s clear why it’s receiving so much praise. Sinners is truly unique – there’s nothing else quite like it.

Looking closely at any series by Mike Flanagan on Netflix shows surprisingly similar themes, making it a natural successor to Sinners.

Mike Flanagan’s Midnight Mass Is The Perfect Show For Fans Of Ryan Coogler’s Oscar-Nominated Movie

Though seemingly different, Mike Flanagan’s Midnight Mass and Ryan Coogler’s Sinners share surprising common ground. Both shows use vampires not as typical villains or heroes, but as a way to delve into themes of faith and how people adapt to new beliefs or communities.

Coogler and Flanagan both employ vampires in their work, but with different aims. Coogler sees vampirism as a way to represent the disappearance of cultures and the loss of who people are, while Flanagan uses it to examine intense religious beliefs and our universal fear of dying.

Mike Flanagan, after watching Sinners, praised the film’s vampires as a clever way to explore themes of race, culture, identity, and how the past impacts the present. His review on Letterboxd highlighted that, like Sinners, his series Midnight Mass doesn’t just aim to scare viewers; it uses horror to delve into deeper issues of acceptance, faith, and how far people will go to protect themselves and their communities.

I’ve noticed something really interesting in both Midnight Mass and Sinners. Blood isn’t just a physical thing; it feels almost… spiritual. In Midnight Mass, those who become ‘infected’ trade their very selves for a chance at living forever. But in Sinners, the vampires get a strange kind of belonging when they turn others, but they lose their own free will in the process. It’s like both shows are saying immortality or belonging comes at a huge cost.

Because of the many interesting similarities between Midnight Mass and Sinners, anyone who enjoyed one of these shows should definitely check out the other.

Like Sinners, Midnight Mass Also Deserves A Direct Sequel

Despite being a critical and commercial hit in 2025, a sequel to ‘Sinners’ hasn’t been officially confirmed yet. However, after seeing the first movie, many are hoping for a continuation. A prequel exploring the history of the character Remmick would also be a great direction for a follow-up.

Like many limited series, Midnight Mass wraps up its main story by the end of the season. However, it still opens the door to future stories within the same world, exploring the themes of vampirism and how it could be misinterpreted as a religious miracle.

It’s been five years since Mike Flanagan’s Midnight Mass came out, and it doesn’t look like there will be a second season. However, Sinners, after a very successful showing at the Academy Awards, might get a sequel. Hopefully, Ryan Coogler will decide to build on the story and create one.

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2026-02-16 04:48