From the sinister minds that brought you The Purge, Happy Death Day and Paranormal Activity, comes the Hulu original horror series Into the Dark, which turns every holiday into a complete nightmare. The horror anthology series features different actors in each episode, with a new episode being released each month focusing on a holiday from that month.
The latest episode of Into the Dark is titled “Tentacles” and it is more or less connected to Valentine’s Day. “Tentacles” follows a couple who fall head over heels into a new romance and entwine their lives — until their intimacy transforms into something terrifying.
Into the Dark tends either find just the right amount of weird, or cross the line into something truly bizarre. “Tentacles” would qualify as the latter. It’s a very strange sci-fi story about a couple who move entirely too fast, without ever establishing trust from the audience. It’s evident right from the beginning that something is wrong, but it will keep you guessing because, again, things get very weird.
The characters in this story behave in very strange ways, which will immediately put viewers on edge and not allow us to trust them. It tips the audience off right from the beginning that there is a twist coming and, while there is a bit more to it than you might initially guess, it’s not enough to make up for the obvious revela. Sure, some of that strange behavior is eventually explained, but not for everyone.
“Tentacles” is meant to have us become invested in the relationship between Tara (played by Dana Drori) and Sam (played by Casey Deidrick)/ However, we don’t get to see a whole lot of a relationship being formed. They never really seem to fully trust each other and, aside from the physical aspect, there’s not a whole lot of connection happening. It’s hard to ever really get behind this couple when it’s clear from the beginning things aren’t going to work out.
“Tentacles” does have some very fun sci-fi elements though. The tension builds right from the beginning and viewers will be itching to see exactly what is going on. There are a great deal of those classic tense horror scenes in which you just know something is coming and clench you jaw waiting for something to pop up around the corner.
There is also a mysterious element that makes you wonder if maybe something bigger is starting here. As is often the case with horror, a cliffhanger ending leaves it open to the possibility of revisiting this world in the future. Whether or not that is something audiences will want is yet to be determined. There is a structure here for an interesting story to be told and perhaps that can be done in another installment.
What we don’t get however, is a satisfying explanation. Unfortunately, you’re going to be left wondering what just happened and what you just watched. While, again, that is often the case with horror, typically Into the Dark will provide at least a little more information to wrap up the story.
Overall, “Tentacles” is not exactly topping the list of Into the Dark installments. The characters just don’t behave in a believable way, and while one has pretty valid excuse, that doesn’t explain the others. It does have a fairly interesting twist but it doesn’t have enough of an impact on the rest of the story and goes pretty much unexplained in the end.
“Tentacles” will debut on Hulu on Friday, February 12. Be sure to check out our reviews of previous episodes and check back each month to see just what Into the Dark has in store next.