Author's Note: As I detailed in my recent article on TV & streaming shows, Hulu's Into the Dark is a holiday-themed anthology show in which each feature-length episode revolves around a specific holiday. In said article, I reviewed the Halloween-themed episodes- in this one, I'm going to tackle the two Thanksgiving-themed ones. Keep an eye out in December for my takes on both the Christmas and New Year's themed episodes as well. I might also continue to review the show two-at-a-time going forward, as I'm enjoying it quite a bit so far.
I should also mention that I wasn't able to track down a few potential Thanksgiving-themed horror flicks, so there's going to be even less reviews to that end this year than I thought- maybe five more, tops, including one on Thanksgiving-themed horror shorts I found while looking for movies to that end. Oh well- time to step it up on that long-proposed Thanksgiving slasher flick, Eli Roth- don't be a turkey! 🍗
As with most anthologies, horror or otherwise, Hulu's Into the Dark is proving rather hit-or-miss, as evidenced by their Thanksgiving-themed offerings, one of which is brilliantly twisted and the other being sort of by-the-numbers. So, which one should you save the date for this turkey day? Let's take a closer look, starting with last year's Flesh & Blood.
The second episode of the first season revolves around a father and daughter still reeling from the murder of matriarch Rose (Meredith Salenger, John Carpenter's Village of the Damned, Lake Placid), which remains unsolved after nearly a year. Both are dealing with the fallout in decidedly different ways as the one-year anniversary of her death is on the horizon, coinciding with, you guessed it, Thanksgiving.
Papa Henry Tooms (Dermot Mulroney, Insidious: Chapter 3, American Horror Story: Cult) has been throwing himself into remodeling the house, which is seemingly never-ending, thanks in no small part to his possibly excessive drinking, which he tries his best to hide from his daughter- but is that all he's hiding?
Meanwhile, only child Kimberly (Diana Silvers, Glass, Ma) has developed a full-blown case of agoraphobia, which is so debilitating that she literally can't bring herself to go out to the front stoop to fetch a delivered package. She literally hasn't left the house since her mother's death, despite the best efforts of her father and well-meaning in-house therapist, Dr. Helen Saunders (Tembi Locke, TV's Eureka, Sliders).
On her birthday, her father gives her a pretty necklace, which she loves at first... until she spots one just like it on the local news around the neck of a missing girl. Is it just a coincidence? Or is her father hiding more than a potential drinking problem? Stuck in the house and restless, she determines to find out, and starts digging around to that end, with results that are more and more alarming by the minute.
Things go from there, and you can probably guess where they are headed, one way or the other. Either her father's guilty of killing that girl on the news- which means he may well have killed her mother, to say nothing of other women- or it's all in her head, the direct result of the combination of the meds she's been taking (or lack thereof) and her overall mental state and general cabin fever she's been suffering from as a result of her agoraphobia.
The end result won't surprise anyone who's seen one of the many such types of films readily available on the Lifetime network on any given day, but it does feature a pretty spectacular gory scene and some genuine suspense here and there, amped up in earnest by virtue of Kim's unfortunate condition. Be that as it may, if you took out that violent bit, it could easily BE one of those aforementioned Lifetime flicks, which is not a good thing for a show that prides itself on being horrific.
Still, Flesh & Blood is bolstered by strong central performances from Silvers in particular, making her acting debut here, and, to a slightly lesser extent, Mulroney, who's really good, but could probably do this sort of thing in his sleep by now. That said, it may be worth seeing for Silvers alone, who is really good.
However, the Thanksgiving angle is arbitrary at best, which is too bad, given the dearth of Thanksgiving-themed horror out there, and even those less acquainted with the horror genre will see the outcome coming a mile away, making this an undeniable let-down, especially coming after the excellent The Body, the premiere episode of the series. Basically, like I said, it's more of a glorified made-for-TV movie suspense-thriller than a full-blown horror film, in spite of that one violent scene.
I'm happy to report that Into the Dark's second stab at Thanksgiving-themed horror, Pilgrim, is an unqualified winner, and this one completely revolves around the holiday, and, indeed, makes it the main focus. The fun begins when a teen daughter's stepmom, Anna (Courtney Henggeler, The Bog Creatures, Cobra Kai), in an attempt to bring the family closer together, books a cosplaying troupe to bring the original Thanksgiving to life the way it was back in the olden days, down to the way the food is prepared and the way the original settlers spoke, acted and dressed.
Unfortunately, the "actors" are a little too into their roles, and it soon becomes obvious things aren't going to end well. First, the first two "pilgrims," leader Ethan (Peter Giles, The Realm, The Collected) and female companion, Patience (Elyse Levesque, TV's The Originals, Orphan Black) are both a little off, and Ethan in particular seems a little too inclined to put his nose into things that don't concern him, as well as spending a little too much time around the youngest of his "adopted" family, Tate (Antonio Raul Corbo, TV's Brooklyn Nine-Nine, New Girl), including telling him iffy stories and trying to "indoctrinate" him into Christianity.
What's more, the two actually move in with the family and one of their neighbors- Ethan with the main family, Patience with the other- so as to "set up" for the upcoming festivities. Faster than you can say "Wicker Man," Ethan has built an old-school shed in the backyard, along with some ominous-looking other devices. Then, others start to show up, also in costume, in character, and taking themselves a little bit too seriously.
Before too long, the family has lost control of the house before they know it, despite the protests of wary daughter, Cody (Reign Edwards, Hell Fest, TV's Snowfall), who, early on senses that something is awry that goes beyond mere theatrics. Eventually, things take a turn and the family, also including workaholic father Shane (Kerr Smith, My Bloody Valentine 3-D, Final Destination), must bond together and fight for what's theirs before it is forcibly- and violently- taken away from them.
The end result is a real hoot, from the retro-creepy opening credits, to the ever-increasing sense of dread that permeates the proceedings, to the over-the-top gory finale that almost gives Eli Roth's much-beloved Thanksgiving faux-movie-trailer a run for its money. I just loved it from start to finish, and I thought it more than made up for the more lackluster initial Thanksgiving-themed offering that was Flesh & Blood.
Writer-director Marcus Dunstan, of The Collector/The Collection fame, as well as having written several of the Saw movies and the cult horror favorite Feast and its sequels, does the honors here, with an assist from writers Noah Feinberg, who also came up with the storyline, and Dunstan's writing partner Patrick Melton, who contributed to all of his aforementioned films as well. While the film is slightly longer than it needs to be, clocking in at 90 minutes, compared to most of the show's more typical 80-minute efforts, the payoff is well-worth the slower spots.
The worst thing I can say about it, though, is that it sometimes falls prey to the clichés of horror films, aka "dumb decisions" that have to happen in order for the plot to play out as intended. For instance, at one point, Cody gets clear evidence that the "Pilgrims" are more than they seem and instead of contacting the police, she runs back to her house and gets herself caught. Also, I find it hard to believe that most people would allow complete strangers, let alone THESE particular strangers just stay with them for several days, instead of in a local hotel or what have you, even if it meant paying for it.
One thing Pilgrim does have in common with Flesh & Blood, as well as the other Into the Dark efforts I've seen thus far, is an across-the-board excellent cast. Edwards in particular has a much-stronger role here than she did in the more by-the-numbers Hell Fest, and this, along with Snowfall, may well lead her to even bigger and better roles. I'm not gonna lie- she's quite a looker, too. (I also found myself weirdly attracted to Levesque, but that's probably one for the therapist, lol. 😁)
Overall, I'd say if you watch just one, definitely make it Pilgrim. Not only is it a better film, but I can absolutely see my making this a semi-annual, if not yearly, addition to my Thanksgiving horror watching list, and not just because choices are decidedly limited in that respect. It's just really enjoyable on the whole, and, as I said, it really does incorporate the holiday into the proceedings in a clever way that's also central to the plot. I can't recommend that one enough.
Flesh & Blood, though, in spite of solid performances all around, and decent execution by director Patrick Lussier, who also brought us the fun My Bloody Valentine remake and the underrated Nick Cage vehicle Drive Angry, is just kind of meh-inducing overall, I'm afraid. Skip it, unless you're just determined to see every Thanksgiving-themed horror flick like I was, and stick with Pilgrim instead. It's horror fun with all the trimmings and then some. 😉
PS- Keep an eye out for Pooka, the star of last year's Christmas-themed Into the Dark, who makes a Black Mirror-esque cameo in both the credits and in the little boy, Tate's, bedroom. More on that episode next month! 😈
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