Fell a little behind on watching Hulu’s holiday horror series, which is now at the halfway mark, but before I get into the two most recent films (I finally have a favorite film in the series), here are the links to my blog about:
And now, onto March and April.
TREEHOUSE (2019)
The March installment barely clings to the Into the Dark concept of one holiday horror per month. No Leprechaun’s or four-leaf clovers here—simply some Celtic references weaved into a feminist witch story. You have to be hardcore Irish to feel festive with this one.
Even so, this is one of my favorite installments, loaded with eerie witchy goodness.
A womanizing famous chef gets away from it all by visiting his guest home, where he befriends a bunch of young women next door. Before long he’s living a witchcraft version of Hard Candy administered by a gaggle of witches. And of course there’s some man-hating lesbianism thrown in for good measure.
This is a fun and dark tale with some chilling moments and twists, but I could see this working just as effectively as a short film. Yet I can’t deny that despite dragging a little at the beginning, this one really keeps up the pace once it kicks into high gear. The initial appearance of a witch is definitely the high point. FREAKY.
I’M JUST FUCKING WITH YOU (2019)
This April Fool’s Day installment is so drenched in neon light it feels like an episode of Now Apocalypse. Not to mention, it’s a little gay as well, with a butch gay biker thrown into the mix.
On April 1st, a dude comes to meet his sister at a hotel before her wedding day. While he waits for her arrival, he hangs with the desk clerk/bartender who is such an obnoxious prankster that we quickly hope he’s the first one killed…while shirtless.
It takes a while for anything to happen beyond false alarm practical jokes. The sister finally arrives, the three party together, and then things move into Vacancy territory. There are cameras in the rooms, bodies start turning up, and then the killing starts.
This is more a thriller than a horror film, and also has a quirky black humor edge (as the title suggests), especially near the end when things kind of fall apart right before the little zinger conclusion.
This one really didn’t do much for me.
