Mr Crocket

"Mr. Crocket" is a 2024 Hulu horror film that offers a nostalgic nod to the iconic 90s TV series, Goosebumps. Fans of the original show will appreciate the familiar tone and atmosphere, as well as the chilling premise of a demonic children's show host.

The film follows a mother, played by Jerrika Hinton, as she embarks on a terrifying journey to rescue her son from the clutches of "Mr. Crocket", a sinister TV personality who has been kidnapping children. The performances are solid, with Hinton delivering a convincing portrayal of a desperate mother. Ayden Gavin shines as her son, capturing the fear and vulnerability of a child trapped in a dangerous situation.

While the film's plot may be somewhat predictable, it's the atmosphere and execution that make it enjoyable. The visual effects are impressive, creating a believable and unsettling world. The score is also effective, adding to the suspense and tension.

Overall, "Mr. Crocket" is a promising horror film that shows a lot of potential. While it may not be a groundbreaking masterpiece, it's a fun and frightening watch that will satisfy fans of the genre.

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.

Ok, i really wanted to like this one - with a very promising opening sequence and incredibly novel concept, i felt like this was going to be a hit.....but no so much.

Its basically mr. Rogers meets freddy krueger/pennywise (IT) - a childrens TV host comes out of the TV to kill parents and abduct children - very novel concept with a ton of potential but it went in a very campy direction (not in a good way) and lost a lot of steam about halfway through.

The acting was pretty stiff and the writing wasnt great. It did have some pretty decent practical special effects and the puppetry was done well. But other than that, i didnt feel like this one lived up to its full potential.

It felt like the writer/director had a concept built around special effects and then shoehorned everything else in to complete it - everything other than the special effects are an after thought and fall real flat.

Overall, i would not reco this one. If redone in a different way and taken more seriously, yeah, sure, but i dont think its worth your time - skip.