Recently, I've been on a Hulu kick (as you all well should be too, article to come on this later!) and while watching a show, I kept seeing ads for what looked like really interesting scary movies. After seeing a fair amount of things that really interested the horror film lover in me, I decided to check it out and was more than thrilled with what I found. "Into The Dark" is a horror film anthology of Hulu Originals. They're done by Blumhouse who are the creators of all of the best scary movies coming out right now ("The Conjuring," "Sinister," "Happy Death Day") which made me even more excited for what was to come.
The 12-part anthology started in October of 2018 and they are releasing one themed scary movie a month until September of 2019. I have watched almost all of them and they are SO good.
1. "The Body"
The first installment of the anthology that premiered in October was called "The Body." This was a Halloween themed film. It follows the Halloween night of a hitman who just finished killing someone and was dragging the body wrapped in plastic down the street. He ran into some folks who were out celebrating the holiday who mistakenly thought that he had an incredible Halloween costume. This installment is action-packed and has a killer twist at the end. I was on the edge of my seat through the entire movie. This was a definite 8/10.
2. "Flesh and Blood"
The second installment of the anthology premiered in November. This was a Thanksgiving-themed film called "Flesh and Blood." This is the only movie I haven't attempted to watch yet, but I'm very excited to. The official description on Hulu for this one says "Kimberly, a teenager suffering from agoraphobia, has not left the house since her mother's unsolved murder. On the eve of Thanksgiving, she begins to suspect that the safe harbor of home and her doting father may be a dangerous mirage." It looks super spooky and I'm excited to watch it.
3. "Pooka"
The third installment of the anthology premiered in December. This was a Christmas-themed film called "Pooka." This one was pretty good but left me with a lot of confusion. It follows the story of an actor who lands a job as the mascot for the year's best-selling toy, Pooka. Pooka is a doll that is either naughty or nice and talks to you according to that mood. At first, he's just living his life and doing his job as Pooka. As time goes on, strange things keep happening that the guy can't quite explain and he keeps seeing Pooka do incredibly awful and destructive things. As his own life is hard to follow during this time of his life, it is equally as hard to follow for the audience. I'd still say to give this one a try, but I was a bit confused throughout. It had me shook, but I didn't understand everything. Probably a 6/10.
4. "New Year, New You"
The fourth installment of the anthology premiered in January. This was a New Year-themed film called "New Year, New You." I didn't finish this one, so it could have a phenomenal ending, but the beginning was pretty dry. I binge-watched almost all of the movies at one time and this one did not hold up to the expectations that the others created for it. It's about old girlfriends who get together for New Years who clearly have some beef in the past and presumably things go wrong. In this one, there was a character that was clearly set up to snap and let things go wrong later on. Again, I didn't finish it, so this could be the complete opposite of what happens. (Someone please let me know if it actually got good.) However, I made it about 1/3 of the way through the movie and it was just basically a petty margs with the gals night and I was not interested in continuing in the slightest. I would give this a hearty 3/10.
5. "Down"
The fifth installment of the anthology premiered in February. This was a Valentine's Day-themed film called "Down." This is definitely my favorite movie in the anthology so far. It follows the story of two co-workers who get trapped in an elevator together for Valentine's Day. They are strangers to one another, but quickly get to know each other a bit too well while they're trapped. Things quickly escalate inside the elevator and it all gets real wild real quick. I was screaming and shook the whole movie. This was a definite 10/10.
6. "Treehouse"
The sixth installment of the anthology premiered in March. This was an Ides of March-inspired film called "Treehouse." This was a close second favorite in this series. It follows the story of a famous chef who goes home and is forced to confront the ghosts of his past actions. This is kind of a really screwed up Me Too movement film and it was incredibly scary. There were some spooky characters that I remember seeing in the promos that literally had me screaming when they showed up on-screen. The beginning of this movie was a little slow and didn't have a clear direction, but once it took off, that boy WENT OFF. It was so good and you need to watch it. 9/10.
7. "I'm Just F*cking With You"
The seventh installment of the anthology premiered in April. This was an April Fools-themed film called "I'm Just F*cking With You." This was a strange installment but was pretty good. It follows the story of a guy who is staying at a motel with his sister. The strange guy running the motel proves immediately to be quite the prankster and the pranks slowly escalate in strangeness and severity. I was super uncomfortable in the beginning, but as things started getting more and more serious, I couldn't help but be freaked out. It was so weird. It wasn't terrifying, but it was definitely an interesting addition with a goooood twist at the end. 7/10
8. "All That We Destroy"
The eighth installment of the anthology is set to premiere on May 3rd. The movie will be called "All That We Destroy." They've started the promos for this one and it looks SO GOOD. It was the original ad that drew me into watching these movies. They haven't released any information about it yet, but it may potentially be about Cinco De Mayo, Mother's Day, Memorial Day, or any other event they may find particularly spookable.
9. "They Come Knocking"
The ninth installment of the anthology is set to premiere on June 7th. The movie will be called "They Come Knocking." There is no information out about this one yet either, but it might be about Father's Day or the Summer Solstice.
10. "Culture Shock"
The tenth installment of the anthology is set to premiere on July 4th. The movie will be called "Culture Shock." There is no information out about this one yet either, but based on the release date, my best guess is that this will be Fourth of July themed.
11. "School Spirit"
The eleventh installment of the anthology is set to premiere in August. The movie will be called "School Spirit." There is no information out about this one yet either, but based on the lack of holidays in August and the title, it might be a back to school themed movie.
12. TBD
The twelfth and final installment will premiere in September. There isn't even a title for this movie that has been announced yet. Labor Day and 9/11's Day of Remembrance take place in September, but there really isn't any clear indication how this thrilling anthology will come to an end.
Y'all seriously need to check out these movies. They're creative, timely, and so good. The next one comes out on May 3rd. Get caught up on all of them before then!
