Mr Crocket

Mr. Crocket is a fun, bloody ride that blends dark children's TV vibes with satisfyingly campy horror. The deaths are sick and funny, the puppets are demented, and the cartoon sequences are genuinely creepy. A lot of effort has gone into recreating the 90s aesthetic through the sets and wardrobe, so it's definitely worth a watch if you're looking for 90s horror nostalgia.

Elvis Nolasco is undeniably the star of the show as Mr. Crocket, the unsettling kids' TV host who blurs the line between saccharine sweetness and killer monstrosity.

Unfortunately, after a very creatively bloody opening that hooks you in, the story does start to lose some steam. The pacing becomes uneven, and the plot feels a bit clunky and disjointed at times. As a movie adapted from a short, you can tell that the adaption from its intended runtime to 90 minutes wasn't the smoothest transition. Still, it manages to hang on and keeps things interesting enough to pull you through.

If you're into dark kids' TV, practical gore, or VHS horror, Mr. Crocket is certainly worth a watch. It's not without its flaws, but you can tell that the makers poured a lot of passion into making this - at no point does it feel phoned in. It's the kind of movie that's best enjoyed on a Friday night when you're in the mood for something fun and a little twisted.

Can't believe some of the bad reviews this movie is getting!

Having grown up in the 90s, I remember the torture of having to watch Barney on repeat as the TV served as a babysitter for my younger sibling, so the premise hits me in the childood.

Mr. Crocket is a psychotic supernatural Mr. Rodgers with a nightmarish dash of PeeWee's playhouse for his realm.

Solid story and practical effects makes for spooky fun reminiscent of a good old school episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark, or a tamer version of Tales from the Hood

Only complaint I have is it's hard to imagine the mom wanting her son Major back as he's a complete and utter ****

This is a solid 7.5. The FX and kill scenes were great with less CGI and more "80s" type FX. The storyline is good and felt fresh. The acting was good, but Mr. Crockett's performance was the best. I also loved the fact that the director/writing didn't use racism as a theme at all. It's almost laughable how in every black horror film the main character has to fight a killer.... And racism. This did not play into the stereotypical storyline of black horror. This will give kids and adults nightmares and if this was made when I was a kid it would have left lasting trauma. As a horror movie this should be an instant classic for this coming generations and I think one that if it doesn't get the love it deserves now, it definitely will in 10 years from now!!!

If you're in for an easy cheesy time with a small portion of gross, this campy horror should be right up your street.

Director Brandon Espy proves to use he has some fairly good taste in horror, taking inspiration from classics such as Nightmare on Elm Street (Dream Warriors and onwards, I'd assume) and Sam Raimi's Evil Dead 2, with a sprinkle of Candyman, to mash together a familiar yet still original horror experience.

Elvis Norasco brings us Mr Crocket, a candidate for everyone's future nightmares. He delivers the punches with what he was given, and certainly amps up the energy every time he's onscreen. With enough development, he could soon become a horror culture classic (provided we have any sequels on the horizon, of course.)

Jerrika Hilton comes in strong as our leading lady, again giving us the best with what she was given. Her performance is solid from start to finish. Kristolyn Lloyd, in a supporting role, was exceptional, proving that minimal screen time means nothing when you have what it takes.

The practical effects and horror puppetry are both very welcome additions, proving that there's genuine hope for the creative industry, and that CGI doesn't always belong in a horror film. I only wish we'd seen more of it.

The films shortcomings are simple, the writing needed some fine-tuning, some dialogue felt a little basic, and it would have been fun to explore some of the horrors behind the world of Mr Crocket a little better. While I also liked the setting in the early 90s, I could have done with just a tiny bit more 90s nostalgia bait (I'm a sucker for it, what can I say, if you're gonna go 90s, go hard or go home, right?)

Over all, it was a fun experience. I almost wrote it off because of the terrible reviews and I'm glad I didn't. Is it a perfect horror movie? Nope. Will it entertain you if you're bored? Maybe. The only way you'll really know is if you give it a chance, I know I'm glad I did.

⭐⭐⭐(1/2)

Plot

A mother embarks on a perilous quest to rescue her son from a demonic children's show host who is kidnapping kids.

Cast

Not familiar with anybody involved.

Verdict

My movie night pick having no idea what it even was turned out to be a really quite nice surprise and certainly something I'd welcome more of.

Mr Crocket is an original horror film that very much draws influence from many 1980's and 1990's movies while forging its own identity and bringing a lot of new ideas to the table.

With a fascinating new antagonist that's more 1 dimensional than most I was hooked from the opening moments.

Mr Crocket has the potential to turn into a modern day horror icon and man does the genre need a few right now! Let's have more Mr Crocket movies please and build up the lore further.

You see it all looks fantastic, it's acted well, it's written solidly and though it does perhaps trail off a but near the end it never lost my attention and that's quite the feat.

I want more and solidly recommend this to any true horror enthusiast.

Rants

When it comes to horror icons look at who there is, now look at when they started. They all had a large number of films over many decades but who can you say that about newer characters that have had multiple films and you can see carrying on long into the future? Not many are there. It's such a shame, we need to remedy that badly in this guys opinion.

The Good

Very original stuff Great antagonist, both character and actor Extremely engaging

The Bad

Last act is weaker than the rest Intolerable kid.