Into The Dark: I’m Just F*cking With You (3/5) – Hulu Review

I’m Just F*cking With You is the latest story in the Hulu anthology Into The Dark. This time the holiday anthology is all about April Fools’ Day. Read this review to find out if the prankster story is something you’d enjoy.

I’m Just F*cking With You (IJFWY) is the latest monthly installment in Hulu’s Into the Dark holiday-themed horror anthology series. For this April installment, the chosen “holiday” is April Fools’ Day.

And, truthfully, without succumbing to Google to check what other April Fools’ Day movies there are, this is probably the best (only?) horror movie that uses April Fools’ Day as a primary context. And I’m not just f*cking with you.

IJFWY opens with Larry (played by Keir O’Donnell). He is on his way to attend the wedding of the girl who “got away”, Cindy. (As we learn a bit later, Cindy was more of the girl who “ran far away” from Larry.) 

Larry then speaks on the phone to his sister, Rachel (played by Jessica McNamee), who had noticed a scathing social media comment insulting Cindy, posted by Larry’s online trolling alter-ego (ProgrammerFlaw3489, or “P-Flaw”). Soon, Larry arrives at the Pink Motel, where we meet Chester (pictured below; played by Hayes MacArthur), the front desk clerk of the Pink Motel.

The April Fools’ Day prankster

At first, Chester seems like a decent guy, but, after a few poorly-timed (and questionably funny) pranks and jokes on Larry, suspicion begins to grow that there’s something off about Chester. That he’s more than an awkward, stuck-in-the-80s, socially oblivious motel employee.

Without revealing too much, the initial interaction between Chester and Larry is simply the beginning of an eerie (sometimes cringe-worthy) cat-and-mouse game, one in which the viewer might not always be 100% certain who is the cat and who is the mouse.

IJFWY is not scary. However, for a horror movie that encompasses April Fools’ Day, it would have been a tragically missed opportunity if there were not dark comedic elements to April Fools’ Day.

I’m Just F*cking with You does not disappoint in this respect.

Watch I’m Just F*cking With You on Hulu now!

At the time of writing this review, there is no consensus on Rotten Tomatoes, but I believe this movie is better (and, for horror fans, more refreshing) than some of the other Into the Dark installments (reviews forthcoming).

Pros: First, Hayes MacArthur’s “Chester” is an absolute treat for horror fans; there is both character development for Chester and a well-written balance between social awkwardness and creepiness that really just f*cks with the viewer.

Second, while not traditionally scary, IJFWY embraces an unconventional terror of strangeness and novelty in both our fleeting surroundings and interactions with others.

Cons: Keir O’Donnell’s “Larry” has a weaker script than that of “Chester”. His acting exceeded the quality of the writing for his character. This asymmetry was more understandable early in the film, in which he’s conveyed as primarily hiding behind “P-Flaw” (i.e., he doesn’t know how to interact with others face-to-face).

However, while Larry does embody “P-Flaw” in the last few scenes, I think there was real potential for this discrepancy to be inverted or at least be minimized earlier in the film, which would have done quite well to enhance the suspense of the aforementioned cat-and-mouse dynamic.

We don’t do half stars at Heaven of Horror, but if we did, I’m Just F*cking With You would get 3½ stars out of 5.

I’m Just F*cking With You is now on Hulu (Episode 7 of Season 1).

Details

Director: Adam Mason
Writers: Gregg Zehentner and Scott Barkan
Starring: Keir O’Donnell, Hayes MacArthur, and Jessica McNamee

Plot

A young man and his sister endure a night of increasingly frightening practical jokes while spending the night at a secluded motel.