By Becca Jonson - October 14, 2024
Continuing much-loved ‘Hulu-ween’ (or hitting Disney+ for UK residents) this past weekend was comedy horror Mr. Crocket, a feature debut from director Brandon Espy. The film stars Elvis Nolasco (Oldboy) as the titular character, who has the ability to magically emerge from the television to kidnap young children.
Equal parts fun and frightening with a fantastic lead performance and cool practical effects, Mr. Crocket injects some colour and humour into the genre that we haven’t seen for some time, though the script could’ve used some finer tuning.
Mr. Crocket is a fantastic titular character that instantly makes the movie worth spending some time with. A perfect amalgamation of genre favorite Freddy Krueger blended with TV host Fred Rogers, he manages to be menacing and frightening yet charming and hilarious, making for an exceptionally fun villain. He has a dream-like fantastical quality that we don’t often receive in the genre, which pairs perfectly with his eerie, uncomfortably dangerous dialogue. Bringing Mr. Crocket to life is Elvis Nolasco, who gives one of the genres most surprising performances of the year thus far. The role requires him to have childlike appeal and charm whilst effortlessly floating into sinister territory, and he masters it beautifully. Nolasco turns Mr. Crocket into a character viewers wouldn’t mind seeing again - there’s definitely room for more.
The supporting performances from the whole cast are up to scratch, too. Jerrika Hinton (The Roommate) is fantastic as recently widowed mother Summer, who loses her son to Mr. Crocket after he displays challenging behaviour due to his grief. It’s a particularly emotional and heart-wrenching turn, with Hinton showcasing consistent believability in her troublesome journey to get her son back.
The rest of the adult cast are just fine, though with a premise such as this, it’s a shame the focus wasn’t on the younger cast. With a villain hellbent on kidnapping children, it may have had even more pay-off to see a group of youngsters band together to get them back. Young Ayden Gavin is fantastic as Major, and with more screen-time, he could’ve excelled even further. The acting on display from all involved is impressive.
The energy delivered by the cast, particularly Nolasco, also filters perfectly into the visuals and tone to create a movie that leaps off the screen. Full of colour, vibrancy, music and style, it taps into that old-school children’s TV show vibe to deliver so much liveliness. It instantly hooks you, not only with its mesmerising visuals and catchy tunes, but with its hypnotic crackly TV screens and unsettling, eerie atmosphere. It immediately offers a unique experience that sucks you in, much like the antagonist aims to achieve with his prey. Every scene has something worth marvelling at visually, with fantastic production design on display.
Horror fans will also be pleased to see a heavy use of practical effects, particularly puppetry, that helps excel Mr. Crocket from good to memorable. The design of the puppets is suitably creepy and offers a unique experience. It’s certainly not the scariest flick of the year as it’s opting for a darkly humorous approach, but with plenty of over-the-top kills, campy carnage and its fair share of blood, it manages to hit on the scare scale regardless of its bright colours and upbeat delivery. A lot of the horror comes from the dialogue delivered by Nolasco, who is highly impressive at turning his character from cooky to creepy. With a fantastic opening sequence that shows off what Mr. Crocket does best, the nature of his crimes easily sends a shiver down your spine. There’s certainly enough in here to make for a suitable spooky season chiller.
What stops Mr. Crocket from achieving true greatness is the narrative. On the one hand, the missing children storyline creates some intrigue, and the script definitely has something to say in terms of parenting, screen-time and the effects of death and grief on young minds. However, it doesn’t give enough exploration into said themes, leaving many a stone unturned and a few gaps in the storyline that could’ve packed more punch.
Furthermore, as an audience, we know that the kidnapped kids are with Mr. Crocket, so a long period of the run-time involves waiting for the adult characters to catch up. This unfortunately causes a lull at the mid-way point, as the interesting ideas introduced during the first act start to lose steam. Things certainly pick up again, as there is still an exciting climax that builds on the excellent visuals and and world-building that’s hinted at throughout, but at times, the journey to get there isn’t the most exciting. With some bland dialogue and undercooked ideas, the script could’ve used some finer tuning.
Mr. Crocket is a darkly comedic horror flick that deserves to be watched for its antagonist alone. The titular character is funny, freaky and unique, helmed by an excellent lead performance that makes the character more memorable than he probably should be. The visuals are excellent, the practical effects are masterful and overall, it provides 90-minutes of fresh fun. Though the story lacks depth, the dialogue is weak and the focus may be on the incorrect characters, there is plenty of room for growth within this world, and many will be left intrigued to see more.
Mr. Crocket is streaming now on Hulu & Disney+
Comments