For Summer, played by Jerrika Hinton, she gets out of the situation without a single scratch. Of course, her child has disappeared into a different ether, but at least she’s alive to fight for him back. Mr. Crocket, played by Elvis Nolasco, starts to torment Summer any chance he gets. Add in another scorned mother and an individual with ulterior motives and you have a recipe for hallucinogenic horror.
The concept of Mr. Crocket originally debuted as part of Hulu’s Bite Size Halloween series back in 2022. The short film was so well-received it was then turned into this feature length project. For transparency, I’ve never seen the short film this movie was based on. However, after watching this new streaming horror flick, I can’t help but think it was better in that smaller morsel of Halloween schlock.
Where the film excels is in its practical effects. A clear switch has seemingly occurred in the film industry, after a large outcry from critics and moviegoers alike, to revert back to primarily physical effects. The switch is evident here and the movie is better off for it. Through the use of demonic Pee-Wee’s Playhouse props and characters, some gruesome imagery is presented in unique ways. (a use of a “bubble gun” is beautifully wacko)
Yet, for every neat kill or inspired effect, there’s about twenty pounds of exposition waiting nearby. Everything is explained in extraneous detail, diving into every little minutiae in a way that feels redundant. Not to quote my 2nd grade teacher, but this film needed to “show, not tell.” As much as the entire cast was ready to play (minus the kid actors…yeesh), the writing didn’t allow them to portray anything other than B-movie archetypes. The sad mother! The man with a past! The forgotten woman! It all felt played out the moment the film started.
While the concept is neat (and oddly enough, somewhat tackled in this year’s I Saw The TV Glow), it gives “could’ve been an email” energy. A short film is a great place for this idea to live. Heck, you could even expand it into an American Horror Stories episode. However, Mr. Crocket as a feature length project doesn’t have enough Halloween thrills to warrant a 90-minute run time.
Mr. Crocket premieres Friday, October 11th on Hulu.