It’s been too damn long since we last had an evil videotape horror, amiright? Well good news, Mr. Crocket is here to help haunt your VCRs once more and poison the well of your favorite childhood programming. This freaky very-n0t-kid-friendly flick is surprisingly dark, despite its retro public access aesthetic, and its villain is an unstoppable supernatural monster. Imagine Pennywise The Clown in Mr. Rogers drag and you’re pretty much there.
Adapted from a short by the same name for Hulu’s Bite-Size Halloween, Mr. Crocket is directed by Brandon Espy from a screenplay co-written with Carl Reid. Mr. Crocket himself is the host of retro kid’s TV show and a boogeyman for parents he deems unworthy of their child’s love. If you’re shooting up heroin while your daughter’s in the other room, he’s gonna get ya. If you’re trying to force your stepson to eat every last vegetable on his plate, he’ll give you a taste of your own medicine. Even if you just have a tiny little outburst on your high-maintenance child after the pressure of suddenly becoming a single mother- Mr Crocket will punish you.
“Mr. Crocket is an unstoppable supernatural monster. Imagine Pennywise The Clown in Mr. Rogers drag…”
The movie has a pretty familiar supernatural evil setup, but it goes for the throat immediately. No joke, one of the scariest images of the year is in the dang cold open of this movie. And the movie really doesn’t hold anything back. Mr. Crocket is slicing open stomachs, spilling intestines, and kidnapping kids from moment 1. Beyond that, it’s the truest version of a mildly offputting kids program that is secretly evil. Everything’s all cute and cuddly at first glance, but as soon the the lights go out, things take a real hard turn into hell. Even Mr Crocket‘s talking chair (a must for 80s kids TV) becomes a torture device with jagged teeth and an insatiable appetite for bad dads.
In spirit, Mr. Crocket is a feature-length version of an Are You Afraid of The Dark? episode that was pulled from television after traumatizing children. It has the suspiciously cute nature of Pee Wee’s Playhouse and the sharp, surreal terror of Channel Zero. Also, bonus points for any Shocker fans out there who still get a kick out of watching a supernatural baddie walk through a television like an evil escape hatch.
“Like a feature-length version of an Are You Afraid of The Dark? episode that was pulled from television after traumatizing children.”
Mr. Crocket is a really strong debut from Espy and a twisted blend of tones. It never gives up the children’s programming style but goes for broke with a series of wild and weird gore sequences. Elvis Nolasco’s performance as Mr. Crocket is a real strange one, kind of perfectly balancing those two worlds. He gives off the appearance of a man that wouldn’t gut you in front of your children, but you’d be dead wrong. It’s a pretty by-the-book horror story but one that isn’t afraid to dive into the deep end of its’ own nightmarish world. It’s a Kindertrauma™ movie made for adults!
Brandon Espy’s Mr. Crocket celebrated its World Premiere at Fantastic Fest 2024 and will be available to stream on Hulu October 11, as part of the platform’s Huluween programming. Click HERE to follow our continued coverage of Fantastic Fest and let us know what your favorite Kindertrauma™ movies are in the official Nightmare on Film Street Discord.
