Down

Hulu's Into the Dark series has had some hits and some misses, so you never really know what to expect heading in. This one starts off strong and is a good little thrilling yarn from start to finish. Great use of two attractive, moderately well-known actors to lead this one gives a sense of the viewer knows these characters and can become engrossed in their story. (Also helps that I love the beautiful Natalie Martinez from her Under the Dome days.) While the second half of the film is cliche and has been done many times before, it's done pretty well. Clocking in at just over 80 minutes, it's a quick little thrill ride that is better than it should be.

I typically like these feature-length vignettes but this one felt too stretched out. I like the stuck-in-elevator-with-stalker-psycho thing but "Jennifer" doesn't learn from her mistakes, agitating Deakins again and again bringing on more drama and injury. It was a decent watch, a bit too much senseless/poorly motivated killing, could've been more nuanced, a little too in-your-face with the violence, should've had a better dénouement .

'Into the Dark' is already returning to the well it drank from with 'Flesh & Blood', keeping things in one location with two main characters at loggerheads. The results are mostly enjoyable even if the 'trapped in an elevator' premise leaves little room for any real invention.

TV stars Natalie Martinez and Matt Lauria carry the 80-minute running time admirably enough; with the former giving a believable and sympathetic turn while the latter enjoys the opportunity to chew on some scenery. They have an interesting chemistry together but rarely do their performances rise above the lurid B-movie nature of the piece. This is familiar territory to anyone who remembers the woman-in-peril thriller 'P2' (which was set on Christmas Eve and would have been a perfect fit for this series come to think of it). 'Down' plays out in a similar fashion only with a smaller budget, less locations and not as many suspense sequences.

This is the first of the 'Into the Dark' movies that felt a lot more like a TV movie, in both premise and execution. I love a good one location thriller, especially if the writer and director can keep the suspense juice flowing for a feature length runtime, but 'Down' is hindered in its ability to drum up true terror by its all too simplistic premise. We know that our two characters will be stuck in this elevator for the majority of the story so therefore we know that neither one of them will face any true peril for at least an hour. And we know exactly which character is not all they appear to be, simply based off the limited nature of the set-up. At one point, right around the first confrontation, I thought the story was going to actually pull out a surprise by killing said character in the heat of a struggle then the true horror story would begin with our lone survivor trapped in an elevator coffin for days with a decomposing body. 'Ah, this could be exciting!' I thought to myself, but then we went straight back into the trapped-with-a-psycho formula. Too bad.

For the first half an hour we get some really interesting character dynamics between Martinez and Lauria, particularly their early flirtations, so they keep things watchable until the plot closes in on them and forces them into conflict. There are some contrivances along the way to get them there too, as both characters say and do things to keep this antagonism alive. When a screenwriter limits themselves this much with their set-up, such contrived behaviors can be expected and even forgiven. Something has to push this story forward, even if Martinez giving the finger to Lauria at a key moment is about as stupid a thing anyone in this series has done thus far. Still, I have to give screenwriter Kent Kubena credit here because 'Down' is never dull nor does it outstay its welcome. It is slick and efficient schlock.

In fact, 'Down' is the most true-to-premise installment of this holiday themed series so far. It really does feel like a twisted take on Valentine's Day where as previous episodes have often felt tenuously connected to their holidays. I like that each film has a different way of dealing with the holiday theme though and they have all explored different themes and issues in their own twisted ways. 'The Body' felt like an attempt to size-up and cut-down millennials; 'Flesh & Blood' explored some devious gaslighting between parent and child; 'Pooka' delved into the nature of existential guilt; 'New Year, New You' toyed with toxic femininity; and 'Down', I suppose, explores toxic masculinity. You could say it is a #MeToo movie in that regard, even if its ideas and scenes are lifted (almost wholesale) from movies that were around way before that movement got going. Ultimately, I feel like 'Down' is entertaining but somehow redundant. This cat-and-mouse one location deal was done to better effect in 'Flesh & Blood' and 'New Year, New You'.

'Into the Dark' is proving itself to be quite divisive. Rather than it being a straight-up horror anthology it seems to be unfolding as more of a celebration of the horror/thriller B-movie. That is really quite awesome in its own way. In an era of prestige TV, when every serialized show takes itself way so seriously, it is really refreshing to have something this trashy, fun and entertaining to watch each month. So I'm still digging the series and will continue reviewing every episode as and when they come out. Next up, 'Treehouse'. See you then!

I'm a Matt Lauria fan so purely for that reason I liked it. Not terrible, but not amazing. Worth a watch though. I liked this much better than the first and third episodes.

One of our favorite episodes yet! We loved it. Very very thrilling.