Mr. Crocket – Movie Review | Hulu (2/5)

MR. CROCKET on Hulu is a new horror movie that feels oddly familiar and – despite a wonderful cast – unfortunately has no real heart. I can see what it wanted to do, but never felt it. Read our full Mr. Crocket movie review here!

MR. CROCKET is a new Hulu Original Horror Film. It’s a movie I expected to enjoy and wanted to like. Not least because I think Jerrika Hinton – who stars in this movie – is always wonderful. In this one, she does what she can, but can’t save it.

The runtime is just shy of an hour and a half – the actual movie is just around 83 minutes without end credits – but it felt so much longer. Somehow, the story just did not work for me. Whether it’s the script or the execution of the storytelling is still a puzzle to me.

Continue reading our Mr. Crocket movie review below. Find it on Hulu from October 11, 2024.

A TV show that speaks to children

Mr. Crocket begins in 1993 but quickly jumps to 1994, which is when the actual story plays out. This is when the story featuring our main protagonist (Jerrika Hinton) begins.

The core plot revolves around a mysterious children’s show host, Mr. Crocket, who magically emerges from television sets. His magic trick involves kidnapping young children and brutally murdering their parents before doing so.

And I will commend this movie for having gorgeous practical effects. That definitely did work exactly as intended. Unfortunately, you never get the time to care for the kids or most of the parents.

This results in you, as the viewer, just going through the motions in a completely detached way.

Our main character is a mother who loses her son when Mr. Crocket snatches him. She’s determined to get him back, so she attempts to track down this supernatural and demonic entertainer.

The most annoying kids

There is a big (huge!) problem in that her son is extremely unlikable. He’s a brat in every possible way and it drove me crazy. To the extent that I figured “good riddance” when he was taken. I realize no parent (well, most!) would ever feel this way, but I could see no reason not to.

And that is a problem. I don’t care about the mother’s mission and when other people – also looking for this enigmatic host of the children’s show – join her, it doesn’t get much better.

Every actor does what they can. Jerrika Hinton (Hunters) portrays a tough love potty mouth kind of woman, and I love that, but the overall vibe of the movie doesn’t match her power. Also, Elvis Nolasco as Mr. Crocket is awesome… and it still doesn’t help the movie much.

He sounds a lot like Bill Cosby much of the time, which has become a strange kind of horror in the present. Admittedly, I still hear that voice and think of a kind and funny father figure first. Then I remember what was discovered about him later and that feeling stops quickly.

Watch Mr. Crocket on Hulu

Mr. Crocket was directed by the up-and-coming young director Brandon Espy. The screenplay also comes from both him and Carl Reid. It’s based on the 2022 short of the same name, which was written and directed by Brandon Espy for Hulu’s Bite Size Halloween.

I can see why they wanted to do a feature film version, but it lost its core and heart somewhere along the way. Not exactly unheard of when going from a short film to a feature-length, but still a shame.

Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of Jerrika Hinton, the story never managed to truly strike a nerve with me. Given the subject of children being abducted and their parents being killed, it shouldn’t be too hard.

Even the plot twists are very predictable. I felt myself lose attention and my mind drifted a little along the way, but I still saw it all coming a mile away. I just expected a lot more from this movie. And yes, that is definitely part of the reason why I’m so disappointed.

Mr. Crocket is out on Hulu from October 11, 2024.

Details

Director: Brandon Espy
Writers: Brandon Espy, Carl Reid
Cast: Jerrika Hinton, Elvis Nolasco, Ayden Gavin, Kristolyn Lloyd, Alex Akpobome

Images courtesy of Disney