So I watched the Hulu Original film Mr. Crocket, a supernatural horror film set in the early 90s. It stars Elvis Nolasco as the titular Mr. Crocket, a threat like if you had a Ben & Jerry’s pint of Captain Kangaroo, Pee Wee Herman, and Freddie Kruger all mixed together. Mr. Crocket travels through a VHS tape to children’s houses and builds trust with them until he comes out of the television set and kills the parents while kidnapping the children into his demonic domain. One day, a mother named Summer (Jerrika Hinton) notices her son Major (Ayden Gavin) has gone missing and goes on a mission to find him, bringing her into conflict with the ghastly Crocket to get her son back. Summer gains some allies in her quest with Rhonda (Kristolyn Lloyd) and Eddie (Alex Akpobome), but at the core is Mother and her son dealing with the death of her husband and his father and reconnecting through this grief while dealing with the kid’s obsession with a form of entertainment.
Nolasco is the right amount of creepy and unnerving, and Crocket, his seething rage at everything, is always there under the surface. He has the charisma needed and presence like we got in the late 80s through the 90s. To me, the character and setup felt like they were inspired in some way by the Atlanta Child Murders of the 70s. It’s a story that’s worth looking into, then me derailing this review into True Crime Podcast script but the nature and look of the Mr. Crocket felt similar to one of those suspects. Also, the story of missing Black children in a Black community that really isn’t taken seriously by law enforcement felt like a core point of something to explore in a horror story. Hinton’s Summer is an empathetic protagonist. She’s a bit like the mom in Child’s Play but way more forthright about dealing with this situation. While not a final girl, she has that same heroic energy of facing her demonic opponent, as seen in many other horror films.
The movie was a bit too gory for me and gross in some scenes, but it’s not a Terrifier movie. It’s not something to watch with younger children; if you can’t take gore and monster-looking things, this will not be for you. Mr. Crocket is a good Halloween horror movie and a concept to start a cool Hulu franchise if it’s given the opportunity. This could be a fun watch for you on October 31st.
Score: C+
