Editorials
Ranking All 12 Installments in the First Season of Hulu’s “Into the Dark”
We run through all of the installments of Hulu’s “Into the Dark”, from worst to best!
Seasonal horror has been around for as long as the slasher genre itself. It just seems like a natural combination to take the wholesomeness and togetherness of a holiday and then pervert it by filling it with murder. It used to be that this murderous holiday tradition was typically reserved for Christmas, but horror films have slightly strayed from this comfort zone and Hulu’s Into the Dark anthology series is certainly the culmination of that idea.
The twelve-part Blumhouse Television produced series designates a different holiday from every month to each installment. While quality has been across the board for this series and many installments have struggled to fill their 80+ minute runtimes, it’s still been a beautiful experiment and celebration of holiday horror. With the recent news that Hulu has commissioned a second season of this series, hopefully the next batch of holiday horrors from Into the Dark only improve upon season one’s foundation.
With the series’ final installment, “Pure,” now available on the streaming service, here’s our breakdown of which episodes we thought were the most and least effective.
12. “Pure” – Daughter’s Day
The final installment of Into the Dark’s inaugural season posits a story of female empowerment that’s set at a Purity Retreat for teens. “Pure” intermingles the supernatural with antiquated notions on chastity and religion. Then, it also layers on top of this the complicated relationship between fathers and daughters and the expectations that are in place with that bond and how that can be symptomatic of its own horror story at times. There’s a growing sense of dread that slowly consumes its protagonist, but “Pure” covers familiar territory and doesn’t feel like anything new. At its worst, it feels especially heavy-handed. It’s not even fun like some of the other misfires on here. There are still some uncomfortable moments throughout “Pure,” but they mostly come from the real-life creepiness of purity contracts.
The fact that “Pure” chooses the recent invention of “Daughter’s Day” as its unifying holiday at least speaks to the idea that there will likely be more variety as this show moves ahead. Picking unusual oddities from the calendar rather than designating a set holiday to each month allows writers and directors to really get crazy here and lets dates like Arbor Day or even Black Friday become viable episodes.
11. “The Body” – Halloween
“The Body” is the episode that kicked off Into the Dark in the first place and was given the freedom to play around with the rich holiday of Halloween, at that. “The Body” has a very good idea at its core, which makes the mishandling of the premise all the more frustrating.
It features a hit man who needs to dispose of a body, but since it’s Halloween, he just hides in plain sight and winds up at a Halloween party. Around the dark comedy, there’s also a nightmare Cinderella story that’s told here. In spite of strong performances, “The Body makes for a clunky debut for the series and many of the problems present in this episode—like a padded runtime—remain issues through the bulk of the series. This idea, more than any other, is the kind of thing that’s perfectly suited for a short film as opposed to a feature, so it’s not surprising to see that’s what this started as. It may have been better to keep it that way and tackle something different altogether.
It should be very interesting to see what next season’s October entry brings to the table.
10. “I’m Just F*cking with You” – April Fool’s Day
April Fool’s Day is one of the better holidays for a horror film and there are actually some very good ones available on the subject matter (April Fool’s Day, Killer Party, and Slaughter High are all worth your time). There’s a very delicate balance when it comes to pranking the audience and pulling the rug out from under them. It can elevate a film to a whole other level when done right, but “I’m Just F*cking With You” feels like it’s laughing at the audience, not with them, and delivers one of the most mean-spirited, nihilistic entries in the series.
This is an episode that at its core is all about “trolls” and the act of trolling, but it presents a story where nobody is exactly likable and everyone is guilty of awful things. Hayes MacArthur is usually a delight and he gives his all here as the prankster, Chester, but he’s perhaps a little too unleashed for his own good here. His games against Larry are just plain sadistic and it’s a clear situation where you don’t really want anyone to come out on top here, let alone Chester. There’s a kernel of a good idea here, but Chester’s whole operation makes The Strangers or Saw look like lighter prank films, in comparison.
9. “Down” – Valentine’s Day
Daniel Stamm of The Last Exorcism fame is actually one of the more accomplished directors to approach an Into the Dark episode and on paper all of this sounds like it could have worked. I’m a big fan of bottle episodes on television and “Down” tries its best to tap into that energy as it traps to people inside of an elevator for the show’s Valentine’s Day installment.
“Down” has some fun as it messes around with the formula of a romantic comedy before taking a sharp left into horror territory. The stripped-down nature of the episode—both figuratively and literally—is admirable, but it fails to make its limited setting as engaging as it needs to be. Other films like Devil have struggled in the same regard and even though the Valentine’s Day angle helps, the characters are never really elevated above the rom-com caricatures that they enter the film as.
8. “Treehouse” – International Women’s Day
There are a few entries of Into the Dark that certainly have a sense of humor to them, but “Treehouse” goes the furthest in this regard and allows James Roday (Psych) to flex his comedic muscles while still telling a very frightening story. Roday assembles an enviable cast of comedic talent (Stephanie Beatriz!) with Jimmi Simpson headlining this episode as a celebrity chef that gets swallowed by the #MeToo movement. It’s a very appropriate story to tell for International Women’s Day and this story about female empowerment incorporates witchcraft and torture to weave a dark morality tale.
There’s a lot to like in “Treehouse,” but its trajectory feels telegraphed right from the start and there’s nothing too surprising in it. Roday plays into the B-horror aesthetic and this could make for a very serviceable episode of Tales From the Crypt, but at feature-length it feels a little overdone.
7. “They Come Knocking” – Father’s Day
“They Come Knocking” looks at a grieving father who takes his two daughters on vacation after the difficult loss of their mother. He tries to properly raise them in a world that doesn’t seem so depressing and bleak, but soon he’ll need to fight to keep them alive when their trip is interrupted by supernatural creatures. “They Come Knocking” gets around to the frightening stuff just at the right time so there’s a proper mix of characterization and scares here and at its best moments it feels like a mix of Signs and Fright Night. It creates a moody, claustrophobic location with the RV and campground, both of which add a refreshing spin on the home invasion genre, too. There are some especially eerie shots that really take advantage of the RV’s layout and limitations, but the moonlit woods also make for the perfect setting for this story of extraterrestrial invaders.
“They Come Knocking” also conjures an effective Ils or Children of the Damned vibe with the monsters that terrorize this family. There are some scenes in this one that are genuinely frightening and suspenseful, plus there’s a well-orchestrated climax, but it’s an installment that’s still silly on a number of levels and suffers from stretching about an hour’s worth of story out to nearly 90 minutes.
6. “Flesh & Blood” – Thanksgiving
Longtime editor for Wes Craven and director of the My Bloody Valentine remake and Drive Angry, Patrick Lussier’s Thanksgiving-themed Into the Dark episode tells a much more intimate story than his previous works. There have been a number of films lately that explore the idea of “What if your father was a serial killer?” so even though “Flesh & Blood” isn’t exactly original in that sense, it’s still entertaining for the most part because of the memorable performances given by Dermot Mulroney and Diana Silvers.
“Flesh & Blood” gets into the inherently icky territory of this subject matter and Mulroney plays the part with an eerie calm that you’re just waiting to break. “Flesh & Blood” gets into some and rich and disturbing subject matter, both physically and psychologically, but once the cat’s out of the bag in this one it largely falls apart. “Flesh & Blood” doesn’t exactly stick the landing (and it even struggles to reach the landing at some moments), but the fact that you care about Silvers’ character goes a long way with this one.
5. “School Spirit” – First Day of School
Directed by Mike Gan and written by Patrick Casey and Josh Miller (the writers for the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog film), “School Spirit” deals with a bunch of kids who are stuck in detention over the weekend. During their punishment time, a vengeful—possible supernatural—serial killer stalks students who have been bad and found themselves in detention. The murderous “School Spirit” costume is actually pretty creepy here and each of the kills here are surprisingly well executed and heavy in the gore. The film is very much an ode to ‘80s slashers. It makes good use out of the confined location of the school and incorporates some inventive kills that make good use of the geography. It’s nothing incredible, but it fits in this mold well and is as fun as the aforementioned schlocky slashers of the past.
“School Spirit” functions as a very satisfying b-horror picture, but it’s also carried by an exceptional cast. All of these teenagers, especially the lead, Erica, do great work here, feel real, and sell their chemistry or animosity towards each other. They all very much fit the “The Breakfast Club…but with murder!” atmosphere that it’s going for.
4. “Pooka!” – Christmas
Nacho Vigalondo has been behind many films that are visually amazing and tell some of the most creative stories that you’ll come across. He’s definitely the biggest “get” in terms of Into the Dark’s season one directors and while his installment isn’t perfect, Vigalondo brings his signature style and doesn’t disappoint. Perhaps the most refreshing aspect of “Pooka!” is that it’s a Christmas horror story that doesn’t involve a murderous Santa Claus. While I wouldn’t be surprised to see Into the Dark eventually turn to this trope, it’s definitely an angle that’s been done to death at this point and at least requires a fresh take. Vigalondo instead crafts a literal man-in-suit monster story that becomes a commentary on the commercialism of the holiday and the duality of man.
“Pooka!” is another entry that benefits from its talented performers and Nyasha Hatendi really sells the broken mental state of his character. As the episode goes on, the character slowly loses track of where he ends and where Pooka, the latest holiday sensation, begins. Even though the episode runs out of steam and spins its tires towards the end, Vigalongo keeps “Pooka!” consistently visually interesting and Pooka himself is a wonderfully creepy creation that deserves recognition.
3. “New Year, New You” – New Year’s Eve
There are some installments of Into the Dark where you’re just waiting for the big turn to happen, but then they suddenly lose all momentum. “New Year, New You” is one of the rare exceptions that actually becomes more complex and engaging once everything falls apart and it tells an angry story tethered together by a standout cast. Director Sophia Takal (go see Always Shine!) gets the most out of her actors, especially Carly Chaikin who bounces between extremes with ease.
There are some very strong emotional twists and turns, but more than anything it’s encouraging that this is an installment that’s all about the dangers of female toxicity and how women can sometimes drag each other down to make themselves feel better. The consequences of this story deal with things like teen suicide from the result of bullying and “New Year, New You” poignantly looks at very real problems and uses them to fuel its horror.
2. “All That We Destroy” – Mother’s Day
“All That We Destroy” looks at what happens when the bond between mother and child becomes toxic and co-dependent. It’s a really creative subject for the holiday of Mother’s Day, especially since it’s more about the dangers of a mother’s love. Chelsea Stardust’s installment tells a gripping story that begins to weave a larger mystery as soon as it starts. There’s a beautifully twisted dynamic between mother and son where they’re both awful individuals, but it attempts to handle this psychopathy with future science and a unique sci-fi angle.
This geneticist mother wants to help her budding serial killer son, so she continually creates an experiment to see if he will repeatedly resort to murder. She wants to understand why her son is a serial killer and unlock the reasoning behind his first kill by recreating it. The murder scenes get progressively vicious and are very hard to watch at times, which definitely plays into the brutal, scary nature of this story. On top of that, both performances are incredible, especially the mother’s frail attempts to understand her son and how she hopes that there’s a happy ending here.
1. “Culture Shock” – Independence Day
With her first feature here, Gigi Saul Guerrero truly rises to the occasion and delivers what is easily the most polished, effective installment of Into the Dark. It’s pretty poignant angle for a Fourth of July installment, as it revolves around a pregnant Mexican immigrant’s illegal journey into USA to get a piece of the American dream, but then it warps into a morbid “grass is always greener…” situation. There are shades of The Purge with the approach to its subject matter, but in the end it feels like a mash-up between Get Out, The Stepford Wives, and Groundhog Day, which is a pretty eclectic cocktail of sensibilities. It’s a dark story about when attempts for social justice and equality backfire.
Perhaps what’s paramount in this film is that Marisol is actually a character that you care about and want to see get out of the situation, which isn’t always the case with these installments. “Culture Shock” juxtaposes real-world racial and societal anxiety with more heightened and supernatural horror in a really creative way, wherein even the regular world is still terrifying for Marisol. Guerrero shifts from a grindhouse exploitation film look to that of a polished major studio picture as Marisol crosses over from Mexico to America. There’s a really effective use of simple American customs getting amplified and played like monstrous, disturbing acts. Or even how the American flag can turn into a terrifying symbol. It’s a good way to make gentrification scary in lieu of any actual monsters. It turns the loss of culture into a physical transformation.
“Culture Shock” takes a very surprising, sci-fi turn in its final act that continues to keep things fresh, even if it might not work for everyone. It also changes things up enough that this is one installment that doesn’t feel like it’s padding its runtime.
All episodes of “Into the Dark” are now available to stream on Hulu.
In this day and age, the word “troll” is often used to describe various online nuisances. Yet as abundant and irksome as the modern troll can be, they aren’t usually as fearsome as their mythological counterparts. I’m not talking about the small and gentler versions that have become more common to see in media. No, there are much bigger and scarier trolls out there—and André Øvredal’s movie Troll Hunter is one of the best places to find them.
It doesn’t take long for Troll Hunter (or Trolljegeren) to dump the Blair Witch Project-esque setup and aim for something a lot fresher. The trajectory of the story is augmented by Otto Jespersen’s character Hans, the titular Troll Hunter. The second he comes barreling out of the deep, dark woods and shouts “troll” at the camera, this movie takes a turn into what feels like uncharted territory. Not only subject-wise, but also conceptually.
For fantastical and made-up subject matter in cinema, found footage is a fast way to add a guise of believability. After all, what we accept to be the most crucial aspect of documentaries—the truth—rubs off on pseudo-documentaries, despite our understanding of the pretense involved. That is what Øvredal delivered with Troll Hunter: a movie so convincing that some viewers wondered if trolls really do exist. So, had this been straightforwardly made, it likely wouldn’t have been as effective. Conventional narratives would be more inclined to treat something like trolls as flat out unreal, and never try to convince the audience to think otherwise.
Hans petrifies the three-headed Tusseladd troll.
The viewers, like the characters trailing Hans, are quickly thrown into the deeper end of that extraordinary story. They have to process all this new information while staying on the go. So, although there is no significant amount of meandering, narratively or physically, there is still a good amount of atmosphere, not to mention tension building. It’s never anything frightful, but then again, Troll Hunter isn’t your standard offering of horror; it’s more on the low end of the dark fantasy spectrum. We aren’t ever spirited away to a faraway world—we stay in rather familiar surroundings, as well as dip into those less so. The outcome is a movie where you’re constantly more in awe than in terror.
As fantasy fiction might do, Troll Hunter prefers not to deal with incredulity. There is no time to waste on doubt, as interviewer Thomas (Glenn Erland Tosterud), soundperson Johanna (Johanna Mørck), and cameraman Kalle (Tomas Alf Larsen) all follow Hans around, recording whatever this character is willing to reveal about his bizarre job. Of course, the Troll Hunter himself is not an open book; in that respect, the diegetic documentary fails to fully capture and unpack the more interesting of its two subjects. Yes, all those giant, monstrous trolls are indeed incredible, but understandably, your mind wanders to their pursuer. What kind of person signs up for this gig and then chooses to stick with it for so long?
Reviews have called out Troll Hunter for its lack of character development. In regard to Thomas and his fellow documentarians, that criticism is valid, but bear in mind, they aren’t the focus of the story, either. Meanwhile, Hans is a well-crafted character. At least better than first realized. Before he was introduced, Hans had already grown tired of the troll grind. Fed up with that low compensation for his services, resentful of the bureaucracy, and wanting to expose his employer on a large scale, Hans’ discontent is glaring.
Then there are those finer details about the Troll Hunter, such as that indifference to both the natural splendor of his everyday surroundings and the affections of an obviously smitten colleague, that also suggest some level of despondency. So it is fair to say this movie doesn’t feature any sizable growth for its characters; however, the namesake isn’t underwritten. No doubt, putting a real-life character like Otto Jespersen in that role is partly why Hans is so fascinating—maybe even relatable.
Otto Jespersen as Hans the Troll Hunter.
There is always a small risk whenever using the term “mockumentary” to describe a found-footage movie, as the word could imply humor where there is none. In the case of Troll Hunter, the term’s usage is appropriate. Some folks have claimed the English-dubbed version has the more comedic tone, however, the Norwegian cut isn’t exactly humorless. Apart from the trolls’ absurd appearances, this is a movie where the characters nearly choke on the monsters’ farts, and Christians are like walking targets. Hans’ complete apathy towards everything is another cause of laughter. Overall, the comedy is intentionally dry and inconsistent. Unfunny, though? Absolutely not.
In a movie where endemic creatures are maltreated, as well as disavowed from living freely and peacefully, it’s hard not to notice the ecological message buried beneath the story. In addition to that is the unmistakable political satire. There is this whole business about intrusive and unsightly power lines—like trolls, they’re big blemishes on the land—that leads to what is perhaps the movie’s funniest moment. The scene in question is that one where certain electric lines, the ones secretly being used to keep the trolls at bay, go in a loop and don’t actually send power to any residents. Yet the monitors of said lines don’t find this at all weird. So it stands to reason that Øvredal was having a go at those who accept the government’s doings without question.
Looking past the fact that trolls aren’t actually real, this movie is an enlightening source of information. And not just for international audiences; Norwegians, too, get schooled about their homeland’s own mythology. It’s also evident from everything on screen that Øvredal and his crew were enthusiastic about the topic. The creature designs are the most indicative of that zeal; those imaginative yet myth-accurate manifestations are equally amusing and grotesque. One second you’re laughing at their phallic noses, the next you’re white-knuckling during a hairy sequence. Most surprisingly is how well the trolls’ visual effects hold up after fifteen years. It’s not all spotless, but on the whole, they remain impressive.
Vouching for a mockumentary about trolls isn’t easy, but those who do come around and give it a shot will more than likely be grateful for the recommendation. For Troll Hunter is a real find in that vast and varied genre we call “found footage“.
A bridge troll reaches up for food and finds Hans decked out in armor.
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