Horror fans can never get enough of the great movies that Blumhouse puts out, with films likeGet Out(2017) andParanormal Activity(2013) making people think and feel scared in equal measure. In 2018, Blumhouse came out with a TV show calledInto The Darkwith 12 movie-length episodes available for streaming on Hulu. Season 2 was released in 2019 with just as many scary and creative stories.
Whether someone makes it a point to see every single new Blumhouse film, or they just love terrifying content in general,Into The Darkis one of the most interesting horror TV shows that has been put out in the last couple of years. Most of all, though, it will remind fans ofAre You Afraid Of The Dark?, a ’90s series that people still have a lot of love for.
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Into The Darkshould be aspopular as several Blumhouse horror moviesbecause the episodes are just so smart. But most of all, the series might remind fans of thescariestAre You Afraid Of The Dark?episodes, as the shows have a lot in common. Both series are anthologies that feature characters put into wild and unnerving situations and having to use their intelligence and gut instincts in order to survive.
The season 1 episode ofInto The Darkcalled “School Spirit” has someAre You Afraid Of The Dark?vibes. Helbrook High School’s star student Erica (Annie Q.) gets Saturday detention, which shocks the “bad kids” Vic (Julian Works) and Lizzy (Jessi Case), along with Brett (Corey Fogelmanis), who doesn’t really fit in anywhere. The mean Mr. Armstrong (Hugo Armstrong) presides over detention but rushes away to his office so he can have some drinks and stalk his ex-wife on Facebook.
This episode has all thenostalgia of ’90s horror TV showsas it’s got a school setting, a smart title, and the legend of a ghost who is said to haunt the hallways and kill students each year. The teenagers know that some people disappear once a year, but they figure that the story is just an urban legend… until people start going missing on this fateful detention day, including Erica’s ex-boyfriend Jason (Jordan Austin Smith). LikeAre You Afraid Of The Dark?,the “School Spirit” episode features strong young adult characters, a premise that feels familiar yet fresh, and some great dialogue and jokes.
There are some other interesting episodes ofInto The Dark, from season 1’s “They Come Knocking” about a family going on a road trip and finding the supernatural, and season 2’s “Midnight Kiss” where friends play a game that changes their relationships. The season 2 premiere “Uncanny Annie” finds college students becoming part of a board game, which feels like a grown-up version of theAre You Afraid Of The Dark?season 6 episode called “The Tale of the Forever Game.”
Into The Darkwill remind fans of thebest ’90s horror moviesas these movie-sized TV episodes are a lot of fun. LikeBlumhouse’s most underrated movies,Into The Darkis entertaining and features awesome performances from big names including Barry Watson, Judy Greer, Suki Waterhouse, and Dermot Mulroney.
In aninterview withThat Shelf, Jason Blum shared why he’s so big on storytelling: “I think that scares are always scarier if there’s a strong emotional core. There should be a great drama between two friends, between a mother and father, or between children. So we really look for a story first and scares second. I think that ultimately makes the scares more effective.”
TheInto The Darkepisodes do exactly what Jason Blum said as they feature relationships between characters in scary situations. In “School Spirit,” for example, Annie is dealing with breaking up with Jason and trying to move on, but when he wants to get back together, that complicates how scared she seems to be about the school’s legend possibly being true. Every episode has so much character development going on that it can sometimes be easy to forget that there is something freaky happening, too, but just as viewers are focusing on the friendships or romantic relationships, a jump scare or something panorama reminds fans that this is an epic horror TV show. While critics have seemed to enjoy these episodes, they haven’t been talked about as much as Blumhouse’s movies, suggesting that this is still a fairly underrated show.
Each episode ofInto The Darkalso has a twist or something that viewers weren’t expecting, which makes it easy to want to binge-watch all 24 episodes and continue being entertained. Fans ofAre You Afraid Of The Dark?or even thefun storytelling ofGoosebumpswon’t want to miss this Blumhouse TV show.
