The good news is, I'm watching and reading lots of stuff, and playing catch-up with TV shows and movies. In fact, I already have enough to do another Movie Round-Up, so look for that later this week, and a special thanks to HBO for that free preview- excellent timing! (Also, that Westworld premiere was great! 🤖)
Before I hopefully get things back to normal around here, I've got a little bit of housecleaning to do- literally and figuratively- so hang in there, and maybe I can go back to the old schedule as soon as next week! Until then, as promised, here's my review of the March holiday-themed episodes of Into the Dark.
So, like I lot of you, no doubt, I just assumed that the two Into the Dark episodes released in March were both St. Patrick's Day-related, but it turns out, only one of them is, so that article title is a bit of a misnomer. Although, to be fair to myself, the title IS repeatedly mentioned in Crawlers, so it's not completely out of nowhere. However, the first one, last year's Treehouse, actually takes place around March 8th, aka International Women's Day, which seems about right, given the plotline.
That said, if it was mentioned at all within the episode, I sure missed it, so for those of you who are sticklers for watching holiday horror movies around the same dates they are set, you can rest easier knowing it's more of an arbitrary thing than a key plot point, and the episode can really be enjoyed any time of the year. Be that as it may, my bad for assuming both episodes were set on or around St. Patrick's Day. Oh well.
Treehouse revolves around a douchey celebrity chef named Peter Rake (Jimmi Simpson, of Westworld fame- perfectly cast, being as how he specializes in such characters), who is going through some legal issues, as well as having some complications at his restaurant. The weekend his ex-wife is due to be remarried, he opts to get out of town and stay at his old family estate, to which he hasn't been back in many a moon, not even to attend his father's funeral.
It is clear that he is a bit estranged from his family, including his sister, Gwen (Amanda Walsh, Lost Girl), a newly-appointed district attorney, who he briefly meets with on her way out of town to deal with a big case. The only other person in the house is longtime maid, Agnes (Nancy Linehan Charles, The Lords of Salem). However, there are a group of women staying nearby, ostensibly for a bachelorette party for bride-to-be Marie (Shaunette Renée Wilson, Black Panther).
Rake, who lives up to his last name, has a run-in with one of the girls, Kara (Julianna Guill, 2009's Friday the 13th, the My Super Psycho Sweet 16 series), when she comes over to borrow some candles and a flashlight after their power goes out. The next day, he runs into Kara while jogging and offers to cook the girls dinner when their power situation still proves to not be rectified.
She accepts and things seem to be going swingingly until Rake gets drunk and starts making iffy comments, some of which are sexist and ageist and others that are a bit xenophobic- two of the girls are from other countries: the Puerto Rican Elena (Stephanie Beatriz, Brooklyn 9-9) and the British Morgan (Sophia Del Pizzo, Angel Has Fallen). Though he goes to bed before crossing any major lines, it's clear from the look on the face of mama bear Lilith (Mary McCormack, 1408) that she's not too happy with his hospitality. (Note the name, BTW.)
When Rake wakes up, he's in bed with Morgan and can't quite remember what has happened. Things get weirder when he spots a peacock in the house and a weird homemade statue that looks demonic in nature. Soon, masked figures appear and Rake eventually passes out again. When he wakes up this time, he realizes he's been drugged, and is paralyzed.
The masked figures, aka the women who came over, taunt and threaten him, and it becomes clear to Rake that they are witches- or at least consider themselves to be such. Things go from there, and get stranger and stranger until it becomes obvious that the women have a hidden agenda and that it is connected to Rake's past- as well as some of those aforementioned lawsuits. Will Rake survive the night? Will help arrive in the form of Agnes and/or old pseudo-friend Lonnie (Michael Weston, House), who works nearby in town? Does Rake even deserve it?
You'll just have to see for yourselves, but there are several twists to the story, so don't believe everything you think you see or hear. The episode was directed by none other than James Roday, of Psych fame (seen above, with some of the cast), who also co-wrote as well, along with Todd Harthan. Harthan produced and wrote for that series as well, along with TV shows like The Resident, which explains the presence of a lot of alum from those two shows.
I thought Treehouse was a timely episode that plays well in our current socio-political climate- think the #metoo and #timesup movements and the whole Harvey Weinstein debacle, among other guilty, typically male, parties. I also liked the twists, and, if anything, thought that Rake got off easy, given the nature of what he did. I'm not sure I would have held back as much.
In fact, part of me thought that this didn't go far enough, but I also recognize that that's due to certain events in my own life, involving my own loved ones. I do get that the point of the whole thing was to show that women, even in extreme circumstances, can show compassion where others might not, and towards people that maybe don't deserve it. While I do believe in second chances, I also can't help but wonder when does one say when, as it were. Your opinions may vary as well, given your own personal experiences with things of this nature.
Either way, it's certainly well-executed, the acting is great across the board, and the locations are impressive, with the titular treehouse proving pretty menacing, and in different ways, both in its use in the past and its use in the present. Rake's family's house is also awe-inspiring and very cool. It's not easy to make such a beautiful place creepy, but this show managed to do just that.
I thought Simpson in particular did great with a tricky role- he managed to be just likable and charming enough to root for him to a certain degree, while, at the same time, wondering if you should, given the nature of what he did. That's a tightrope of a thing to pull off, but I thought he did a fantastic job. Simpson has made a bit of a cottage industry out of playing assholes, to such a degree that it can be hard to not be wary of him in any role, but his work here was just subtle enough to tow the line between the two extremes of witty and rakish- in other words, he lived up to that name.
I imagine the ending will be the source of some debate, but I like movies and shows that encourage further discussion, so I'm onboard with it, more or less. (Here's a great interview with some of the principals after you've seen it.) Besides, there's something to be said for taking the road less traveled. Treehouse could have gone the obvious way, but didn't, and there's something to be said for that. It's definitely in keeping with the vibe of Roday's previous work, especially Psych. This Treehouse is a keeper.
Next up, we have the real St. Patrick's Day Massacre, Crawlers. The title refers to the much-celebrated pub crawl that revelers have been doing since time out of mind, particularly on St. Patty's Day, but it also could refer to the creatures that are preying upon said pub crawlers. Nope, it's not zombies, thank God. In fact, it's actually aliens, and they have the ability to bite someone and assume the facade of the person they bit, a la John Carpenter's The Thing, only not as gross, for better or worse, depending on who you are.
Honestly, that's about all there is to it, and you get that information within the first five minutes or so, so points for not dragging things out, I guess. Indeed, given that the whole thing clocks in at just over a mere 80 minutes, the episode certainly doesn't overstay its welcome. That said, it does have a few problems overall.
On the one hand, I liked most of the characters. Yes, Misty was a bit single-minded in her quest to find her friend, Chloe (Jude Demorest, TV's Star), but her determination to leave no friend behind is admirable, even if, as one character points out, Chloe is kind of a crappy friend and tends to only think of herself. To the character's credit, though, she does eventually learn that lesson, and is smart enough to know when to say when.
Misty is played by the sexy Pepi Sonuga, who previously did battle with the most infamous St. Patrick's Day baddie of them all, in the recent Leprechaun Returns, as well as having appeared in the fun Ash vs. the Evil Dead series. It's also nice to see a literal African-American (she's from Nigeria) in a horror movie that isn't just killer bait. I guess that's a bit of a spoiler, but it's pretty clearly established that she's the de facto leader, in spite of the narrative wrap-around character of Shauna. Or the co-lead, at the very least.
Shauna is played by the likably scrappy (and very sexy) Giorgia Whigham, who has also appeared in the current season of the CW's Vampire Diaries spin-off, Legacies, the third season of MTV's Scream: The Series and Netflix's The Punisher and 13 Reasons Why. While Misty may lead the hunt for her possibly kidnapped bestie, it's Shauna that has the knowledge to figure out what's going on for real, and the resources to combat it. Given that her character's a drug dealer, that's pretty subversive, and reminded me a bit of Josh Harnett's character in The Faculty, which is apropos, given the whole alien invasion angle.
Rounding out the main cast are Yuejin (Olivia Liang, also of Legacies), aka Chloe's more current bestie- Chloe and Misty had a falling out after Chloe disputed Misty's account of events at a frat party, and she started hanging out with Yuejin in her stead- and Aaron (Cameron Fuller, The Last Ship), a frat guy that Misty suspects has something to do with Chloe's disappearance, but may not be as bad as he seems- or the real culprit in Chloe's vanishing.
Another thing I liked is the way the characters aren't just stereotypes: Aaron isn't the douchebag frat guy he seems to be (though his friends aren't the greatest); Misty cares about her friend and her well-being, even though Chloe turned her back on her when she needed her most; Shauna isn't just a scumbag drug dealer that revels in crazy conspiracy theories. Also, they're not conspiracy theories if you're right.
On the other hand, Crawlers botches some major things along the way, notably the big finale. After perfectly setting things up for a massive aliens vs. humans showdown at a warehouse rave, those left standing in our gang arrive to find- hardly anyone there. Instead, they waltz right in, do what they planned to do and leave, with only a minimum of fuss. Kind of a letdown after all the build-up, really.
Yes, Misty does get not one, but two mini-showdowns: one with the frat guy that roofied her, and another with Chloe, who she finally finds near the end- but it's almost unforgivable to not have a big battle in a movie like this, least of all after all the set-up. Indeed, the whole movie is basically just a series of small skirmishes, but with no big pay-off at the end. St. Patrick's Day Massacre, my ass.
Don't get me wrong- that solid writing and characterization (by first-timer Catherine Wignall and co-writer Mike Gan, who also penned the previous ITD ep School Spirit, which I haven't reviewed yet) is much-appreciated, as is the great cast, all of whom nail their roles (special shout-out to Virginia Louise Smith, who plays Shauna's mom). The episode is also competently directed by Brandon Zuck, in his feature-length debut, after helming some well-received shorts.
But yeah, the ending is a bit of a letdown, and the episode could have used a bit more action. The weird thing is, it's never boring, the pacing is solid enough, and I didn't actively dislike anything about it, really, overall. I certainly don't regret watching it. But there's no denying there's something missing here, and a big part of it is that, for a horror show, there's not a lot of horror here. I'm not sure if it was a budget thing or what, but don't expect a lot of gore or big battles here.
So, yeah, Treehouse is definitely the winner of which of these is more of a must-see. Even if the ending of that one is likely to be divisive among those you watch it with, depending on who- if anyone- you do watch it with, it's still unique and original, regardless. Whereas Crawlers is well-executed for what it is, but the ending is just meh. Still, given the decidedly low amount of St. Patrick Day's-themed horror out there, you could do a lot worse. At the very least, it's reasonably entertaining.
Check 'em both out, but know that Treehouse is far superior to Crawlers if you have to choose just one. 👾😵
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