Into the Dark
Into the Darkis aholiday - themedhorror anthology fromBlumhouse ProductionsandHuluthat focuses on the dark side of traditional holiday in 12 feature distance films that release once per month .
Season two kick off in October 2019 , strike out one year from the first season ’s kick off in 2018 . With its rotating directors , tarradiddle , and styles , Into the Darkhas something for any audience to delight , though with anthology works of any variety , there are oblige to be some installments that are stronger than others . Like the holidays themselves , some features are more well - have intercourse and have fully grown , boldertraditionsto scheme while others are more cerebral conceptually and obscure .
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Blumhouse is very much a aim force in the horror community , with majorblockbustersand franchises under their horizon . Into the Darkfeels very much like a love project that has picked up steam and gives horror lover a little bit of flush with each element of the holiday season , allowing them to enjoy fresh film year - round . Here are the episodes ofInto the Dark ’s first season , ranked worst to serious .
12. The Body (Halloween)
The Bodycenters around a professionalhitman , Wilkes , ( Tom Bateman ) who end up in the parlous stance where he is forced to enclose the body of his late dupe in plastic wrap and drag it around with him after he gets caught up in the eye of a roaringHalloweenparty .
While the premise was interesting and the acting is dear , the plot is slender and full of holes from the start . The overall reliance on worldwide gore and ferocity does n’t commingle specially well at its attempts at humor and leaves the intact affair rather flat . SometimesThe Bodyoverstayed its welcome with the run - time , and in some prospect , it should have been about twenty minutes longer to flesh out the plot and round the edges .
11. Pure (Daughter’s Day)
Purewas the season one last , and orb around a grouping of vestal young girls who all attend a honour retreat and end up wrapped up in the midsection of a secretritualthat ends up cite a devil . aim by Hannah Macpherson , this film revolves around Daughter ’s Day , which is a newer holiday as of 2017 , and explores the patriarchate and hypocritical male expectation of youthful women .
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It ’s an uncomfortable motion picture due to the content , which revolves around " sinlessness arrangement " between Father and daughters and puts virginity as a sacred highlight of focus . While there is plenty of room forpoliticalmessaging in horror , Purebeats its audience over the psyche with its content without lead any elbow room for nuance or other interpreting regarding how to enjoy the film . Since it ’s also one of the more obscure holidays choose , it suffers by alienate the viewer who may not be completely conversant with its theme .
10. I’m Just F*cking With You (April Fool’s Day)
I ’m Just F*cking With Youexplores the concept of a mysterious unknown who ends up becoming a real scourge to a brother and baby twosome when they delay at a motel together . Drawing inspiration from films likeThe Hitcher , the concept of ' stranger danger ' works reasonably well in horror film , but looped into this holiday setting ends up being more of a gaffe than an effective background for a repulsion film .
At its root , the conception of " trolling " and pranking seems harmless , but the deadly twirl on it where the audience is constantly confused about how to feel does n’t foreshadow well for a patch that already suffers from a murky substance . No character is sympathetic enough to care about their fate and the villain is hollow despite his imitation of a bartender who likes to mess with his patrons in a very unsavory way .
9. Down (Valentine’s Day)
Downseemed like it could be a inviolable addition to a long line ofValentine ’s Daythemed horror . Guy ( Matt Lauria ) and Jennifer ( Natalie Martinez ) , who solve in the same edifice , terminate up trapped in an elevator together on Valentine ’s Day . After the two strike up a conversation , hold nothing better to do with their time , they distinguish one is harboring a dark arcanum that is connect to the other .
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Despite the inviolable premise , Downsuffers an individuality crisis and packs too many themes and tropes into one motion picture . It is equal parts love link , dark comedy , and retaliation thriller . If it would have simplify a fleck , there were a lot of individual aspects that could have fueled an integral feature on their own ; unfortunately , doing too much in too petty clock time caused what could have been a great movie to downshift into predictable mediocrity . The playacting was expectant , with both the Pb commit firm carrying into action , but that was n’t enough to save it .
8. Flesh & Blood (Thanksgiving)
Flesh & Bloodis a Thanksgiving tale about an agoraphobic young woman who lives with her father , Henry ( Dermot Mulroney ) , and starts to acknowledge that he may be not as he seems when vernal char start to go missing in their town . Kimberly ( Diana Silvers ) is being parent by herfatherafter her female parent ’s death . At one stop in the photographic film , she find fault him and criminate him of murder . It seems like it could be herparanoiacreeping in , but as the film continues , more and more evidence start to stack up against Henry .
Audiences and critics favor this picture as a potent installment , which is mostly accurate . Mulroney and Silvers toy off each other bright , really driving the ' is he or is n’t he ' stress that the cinema needs so as to be successful . This part of the film really does pay off , as the answer to the interrogation is n’t revealed until the very end . However , it hale unrelentingly at time and the slow - burnthrilleraspects of it could have been tighter instead of seeming too lengthy and tautologic . Also , for a vacation - theme horror , the Thanksgiving chemical element is n’t really present or explored in - astuteness , it ’s more of a background and could be exchange with many other holidays on the list since family woes are a staple of many celebration .
7. Treehouse (International Women’s Day)
Fueled by International Women ’s Day , Treehouseis a # MeToo tale that involves acelebrity chef(Jimmi Simpson ) who has developed a negative reputation for his speculative conduct with women . Peter retreat to his family ’s property for a pickup , attempting to lie in downcast until risky press dies down , but finish up being punished for his retiring transgression by a coven of witches .
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Treehousegot mixed reviews , and truly so , since it plays heavily to the open matter and social climate for the crusade , peculiarly reach its penchant for fete and authorise women . On the electronegative side , it take every predictable route possible without deviate from the anticipate outcome or tally anything fresh to the vengefulwitchtrope or the sociopolitical message of the tale . It ’s a in general fulfill exemplary tale for homo , but seems a little weighted and once in a while preachy .
6. They Come Knocking (Father’s Day)
They issue forth Knockingcenters around a kinfolk who are suffer the late loss of their materfamilias after she passes aside from Cancer the Crab . Nathan ( Clayne Crawford ) takes his daughters out to the desert for a sept hideaway to attempt to help them all deal with their collective grief . Out in the desert , the kinsperson has an coming upon of the supernatural variety that incite the horror component of this otherwise generic taradiddle .
This celluloid has a dissimilar sort of feel that ’s more emotional than the other installments . The dichotomy of dealing with a mother ’s passing play in aFather ’s Daystory was an interesting take . It is suspenseful and deliver some effective leap scares , but rely on them a little intemperately , as many supernatural tale . But the run clock time is tedious for the amount of material presented and , while there ’s a heap to enjoy inThey Come Knocking , it would have likely been well suit as a short film .
5. New Year, New You (New Year’s Eve)
New Year ’s Eve and solving fuelNew Year New Youfrom theater director Sophia Takal , who is slat to channelise the newBlack Christmasremake in December 2020 . A gathering of old friends who have known each other from in high spirits school decide to ring in the New Year together . One of the friends , Danielle ( Carly Chaikin ) , has had a very successful vocation as an influencer , promoting a healthy lifestyle brand and " clean living . " While her personal appeal and success pulls the wool over some eyes , one woman in the friends ' mathematical group threatens to peril the dark secrets that have been festering since their youth .
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An innocent game of " Never Have I Ever " turns venomous in a cat - and - mouse tarradiddle that pitsfemale friendsagainst one another and allow a very paranoid , claustrophobic environment for the looker . While it ’s never outright terrifying , it is unsettling and uncomfortable as the in - fight reaches a head as the intoxicant continues to flow . Takal have it away how to meander a just story , which is probablyNew Year , New You ’s strongest feature . It has enough wrench and turns to satisfy even the most apprehensive viewer , but loses steam at the end and never really recovers or keeps the momentum of its early stride .
4. School Spirit (First Day of School)
schooling Spiritfollows a group of outcasts who all terminate up getting tasked with cleaning the schooling during weekend hold . Their school has an urban fable that put forward it is haunted by aserial killerwho stalk educatee in detainment . A gamey school setting is the perfect backdrop for a bloody littleslashertale and has a swashbuckling sequential killer that furnish fun frights for a wide variety of audience .
This moving-picture show is most successful because of its simplicity . The plot is nothing new , but most slasher fib do n’t deviate from formulas that work out . The cast is a labor force behind the hokey plot and really sell the terror the students experience during their Clarence Day at custody . School Spiritintroduces a killer that may or may not be supernatural which adds a different sort of vibe to the overall paper ; it ’s a slight pinch to the average , which amplifies the overall refreshing take for this back - to - school special .
3. Pooka! (Christmas)
Pooka!introduces one of the most iconic characters of 2018 horror in the creation of a creepy toy that has two sides : Naughty Pooka and Nice Pooka , just in time for the Christmas season . An unemployed player , Wilson ( Nyasha Hatendi ) , ends up being utilize by a toy society and give the office of a mascot , Pooka , who serves as the center of their selling campaign for fresh toys found around his alikeness . Wilson ends up being influenced physically and psychologically by wearing the suit and begin his slow descent into folly .
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2. All That We Destroy (Mother’s Day)
All That We Destroyis a Mother ’s Day tale about a female parent , Dr. Victoria Harris ( Samantha Mathis ) who discover about her son Spencer ’s ( Israel Broussard ) proclivities for murdering unseasoned women and decides to use her accomplishment as a geneticist to help him control his urges . When Spencer seems to long for his independence after he meets a unexampled girl and Ashley Prime ( Aurora Perrineau ) set about to become self - cognisant , Dr. Harris is stuck between her maternal fond regard and her scientific morality .
Director Chelsea Stardust deliver a harrowing tale of mother and son dynamics that are pushed to the downright limit when their co - dependent family relationship start to eat . Science plays an interesting backdrop in thissci - fi horrorfeature that revolve around the opinion that just because something is potential does n’t give scientists the right to do it . have a budding in series killer in the admixture is also challenging because as Spencer develops a relationship with neighbour Marissa ( Dora Madison ) , there ’s a signified of underlying apprehension where the audience is stuck fearing for her life and also for the mother , who seems devoted to fixing his trouble at all costs .
1. Culture Shock (Independence Day)
Culture Shockuses America’sIndependence Dayas a background for a narrative about the Mexican perimeter crisis and the notion of immigrations and makes audiences oppugn whether or not the US truly is the " landed estate of the free . " Marisol ( Martha Higareda ) is a Mexican adult female who pays a unscrupulous man to lead her across the moulding into the US after she discover she is significant and could n’t make her first attempt to queer . She ends up in an idyllic , Stepfordian world where the foreign inhabitants , which let in horror fan favorite Barbara Crampton , may not be as wholesome nor as welcoming as they seem .
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From conductor Gigi Saul Guerrero of Luchagore Productions , Culture Shocksucceeds in telling a repulsion story with impregnable sociopolitical underpinnings in acharged climateand does so with fearless and expert accomplishment . The film , which starts in Spanish and transitions to English , really paints a agonizing tale of survival of the fittest and the impression that some hoi polloi will give anything to be innocent when freedom should be a give .
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