Director – Brandon Espy (Bite Size Halloween, Kiara)
Starring – Jerrika Hinton (Hunters, A Majestic Christmas), Alex Akpobome (For All Mankind, Twenties), and Elvis Nolasco (Godfather of Harlem, Manhunt)
Release Date – 2024
Rating – 2.5/5
Millennials are a nostalgic bunch. I was born in the mid-80s and grew up through the 90s which was an important time for many of us. Sitting around reading Goosebumps while Are You Afraid of the Dark? plays in the background. Going to theaters to watch Se7en or renting direct to video sleaze on Fridays because we got to keep them an extra day because the local video store is closed on Sundays. We’ve seen genre films that have catered to these fond memories with movies like The Banana Splits, Fear Street, and Willy’s Wonderland.
A few weeks back I received a press release for what looked like a Mr. Rogers inspired horror film titled Mr. Crocket. When I saw a screenshot from this Hulu exclusive that featured a VHS tape I knew I had to see it. I reached out to Hulu and they were kind enough to send a review link my way. I want to thank them for allowing me the opportunity to check this one out before it hits streaming.
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows a recently widowed mother and her son. She is struggling to provide and take care of her son and he has recently started lashing out. She finds an old video tape for the show Mr. Crocket and takes it in for him to watch where he immediately becomes obsessed with it. She interrupts one of his many viewings of the tape and he has a meltdown. Before she is able to do anything about it she finds Mr. Crocket appears. He tries to kill her and takes her son. She frantically tries to get him back and before long she has found some other parents searching for their children after an appearance from Mr. Crocket. **Spoiler Alert**
I went into Mr. Crocket extremely excited for it. I knew very little about the film aside from what was shown in the teaser that was attached with the press release. Sadly, the movie was nowhere near as enjoyable as I had hoped. In fact, it was a bit of a dull flick.
The acting in this one is very enjoyable. The film’s lead was fantastic. Hinton is phenomenal in her role but it was Nolasco that made the film for me. The film may have been a drag at times but Nolasco as Mr. Crocket was the high point of the film for me.
The story for this one was an amazing idea that wasn’t executed very well. The idea of a murdered children’s show host kidnapping children that watch his tape is a pretty awesome idea. However, the drawn out scenes, boring dialogue, and predictable character reveal made the film difficult to finish. Giving the viewer a bit more insight into Mr Crocket prior to his death would have been more enjoyable than the brief look into his past that we do get. Also, several scenes need to be heavily edited to fix the pacing of the film.
Finally, the film has several on screen deaths and some fantastic puppets. I loved the look of Mr. Crocket’s diabolical puppets. They are only in the film for a small period of time which is a damn shame. I wish they would have been utilized more. Also, the deaths are pretty brutal with some fantastic effects that looks great but not enough to save the film. Overall, Mr. Crocket had so much potential but somewhere between pre-production and filming it lost the appeal. I seriously wanted to enjoy this one but I could barely finish it. I hate to say it but this is one you should probably skip.
