'Mr Crocket' Review: Gore and Practical Effects Elevate a Children's TV Nightmare | Fantastic Fest 2024
Brandon Espy’s Mr. Crocket started as a 6-minute horror short for Hulu's Bite Size Halloween collection. Two years later, Espy's feature debut is hitting as part of the streamer's 2024 "Huluween" slate. It's a malevolent take on Pee-wee's Playhouse and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood dashed with the wit of slasher icon Freddy Krueger (albeit opposite motivations). Espy's exploration of parenthood and children's television shows is packed with practical effects that would terrify youngsters expecting Saturday morning laughs, but suffers from some typical short-to-feature issues in stretching stories to the limit. Even so, Mr. Crocket makes for a wicked little Halloween steam in a punchy 90-minutes-or-less package.
What Is 'Mr Crocket' About?
Jerrika Hinton stars as single mother Summer, who struggles to control her son Major (Ayden Gavin) after her husband's tragic death. A mysterious community book box appears outside her home, falling from the sky. Inside, Summer finds a singalong video titled "Mr. Crocket's World." Major is glued to the television any time the tape is playing and throws a tantrum when Summer demands he stop watching it one day. Summer sends Major to his room, but inside, she hears a familiar voice coming from behind a locked door. To her horror, Mr. Crocket (Elvis Nolasco) appears in the flesh and uses his "magic marker" to kidnap Major — but where did they go?
Espy's creativity is on full display in Mr. Crocket. Clear allusions to Pee-Wee's special friends Chairy or Clocky are given a genre makeover because Mr. Crocket's hideout exists in Hell. What children see when watching Mr. Crocket is the wholesome public access set you'd expect, but that's a facade. Mr. Crocket's best friends become demonic iterations of anthropomorphic furniture, or Blue, the monstrous teddy bear with exposed brains and razor-sharp claws. Anything from Barney & Friends to Teletubbies is referenced in Hellborne redesigns as part of Mr. Crocket's fire-scorched studio lair. Espy's craft shines when turning childhood staples into nightmarish lackeys out for blood, which leads to solid visual depictions of youthful innocence roasted to a crisp.
'Mr. Crocket' Is a Horror Play on Children's TV Presenters Like Fred Rogers
Elvis Nolasco is a sinister Fred Rogers type with more than a few screws loose — the word of the day is "Evil." Mr. Crocket's schtick shows him teaching "naughty" parents a lesson and "rescuing" their children, which results in some gruesome deaths. Nolasco nails the children's host persona and only pushes harder into gimmicks as teachings turn into brutal death scenes, where Mr. Crocket reminds fathers how to share or clean their plates in gross displays of practical gore. All the while, Nolasco keeps an ear-to-ear smile plastered wide and instructs his imaginary minions to commit acts of violence as he cackles like mad. Nolasco is due credit for understanding how to stay unhinged, predatory, and impressively in character as Mr. Crocket hunts failing parents like a soul-sucked LeVar Burton.
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Summer's investigation as she uncovers the urban legend of Mr. Crocket is less appealing. Espy and co-writer Carl Reid rely on cryptic tropes and an insufficiently explained story to keep gears moving. Summer's aided by a disheveled homeless mother who's also seen Mr. Crocket — the stereotype crackpot, Rhonda (Kristolyn Lloyd) — and a conspicuously interested father named Eddie (Alex Akpobome). Things get batty as Rhonda taps into Mr. Crocket's essence over hardwired television sets in her off-the-grid workshop, while Eddie's overeagerness sells an obvious reveal to come. Espy does enough to justify the feature's duration, but not enough to dispel concerns about adapting a tiny proof of concept into a fully realized idea. Depictions of parenthood’s ups and downs are honest, but a bit underwhelming as a thematic crux.
'Mr. Crocket' Has Tons of Gore and Creative Practical Effects
That said, you're here for the gore — and Espy delivers. Mr. Crocket reads like a practical effects showcase, as Blue tears human guts to shreds or Summer is pecked at by a psychotic bird puppet. The opening scene where Rhonda's husband succumbs to Mr. Crocket's brand of discipline slashes a torso open and spills intestines, setting proper expectations for what's to come. In addition to all the joy special effects designers spread through rejected Sesame Street characters or head-to-toe costumed mascots, brutality hits harder than most of Hulu's previous streaming horror originals (dominated by Blumhouse Television). Espy isn’t pulling punches, and will surely scar whichever families accidentally select this title presuming it’s safe fun for the entire family.
Mr. Crocket is a passible all-ages perversion that earns its adults-only rating. Espy succeeds better than expected with his debut expansion on an existing concept, but still cannot dodge complaints about shorts that can't fully support feature lengths. Luckily, practical kill sequences go hard, and the pacing forgives slighter storytelling outlines. For a movie about a Mister Rogers type who snaps and turns supernatural, Mr. Crocket tallies an approvable body count with a chipper smile the whole time. He's not the next legendary horror mainstay like Art the Clown, but Espy should be proud of his ability to turn a kernel of an idea into something with entertainment value beyond brand recognition.
Mr. Crocket is a bloody good time that takes all your favorite childhood television shows and gives them a hellish makeover.
- Elvis Nolasco is chewing up scenery as the titular villain.
- The movie is laced with creative practical gore and production design.
- The movie gets through its quick runtime with a solid urgency.
- The storytelling relies on tropes a bit too much.
- The movie feels like a kill-forward showcase without much else to say.
- It can?t avoid some usual complaints about shorts turned features.
Mr. Crocket screened at this year's Fantastic Fest. It is now streaming on Hulu.
Watch on Hulu
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