If you’re a parent, you’ve inevitably had a moment of concern over what your kids are watching. With everything available on YouTube and on the depths of streaming services, it’s no longer possible to pop your kid in front of the TV and trust that they’ll be fine. Especially not, as is the case with the trailer for Hulu’s Mr. Crocket, if the things in the TV might want to kill you when you come back.
Mr. Crocket is everything Mister Rogers isn’t: mysterious, unsettling, uncanny…oh, and did we mention he can come through a television screen a la The Ring? Clearly a satirical play on popular kids’ media of the ‘90s, the film follows a mother who fights to get her son back after he’s been stolen by the TV host who pops out of a mysterious VHS that appears in her mailbox. In order to get him back, she must track down the demonic presenter, but the journey through his bizarre world will be more challenging than anything she’s ever faced before.
It’s not the first time a horror director has played on nostalgia for millennial childhoods in order to strike fear into audiences’ hearts. One of this year’s biggest horror hits, I Saw the TV Glow, does the very same, using the memory of sitting in front of an old tube TV to watch syndicated kids’ shows as an allegory for the transgender experience, as directed by Jane Schoenberg.
Much like Hulu’s other Halloween offerings, the film is based on the short of the same name from director Brandon Espy, which originally premiered as part of the streamer’s Bite Size Halloween offerings. Mr. Crocket isn’t the only short-film-turned-full-size-feature in this year’s October slate for Hulu, either — FANGORIA recently debuted the first images from Carved, another horror comedy about kids fighting back against a sentient pumpkin. Basically, Hulu’s point is this: keep a tight leash on your kids when the witching hour rolls around.
The film stars Jerrika Hinton, Elvis Nolasco, Ayden Gavin, Kristolyn Lloyd, and Alex Akpobome, with lead producers David Brooks, Arbi Pedrossian, Jenna Cavelle, and Carl Reid serving as lead producers, executive producer Miles Alva, and co-producers Sean King O’Grady, Josh Feldman, and Jesse Ford.
Mr. Crocket premieres on Hulu on October 11. Check out the trailer below:
