Finally, a modern day spiritual successor to Freddy Kreuger has arrived in the form of Mr. Crocket, a disturbing and surreal horror film that blends dark fantasy with a deeply unsettling premise. The titular character, Mr. Crocket, is a Mr. Rogers-esque figurehead that sings and bring children together in his colorful program, Mr. Crocket’s World. Subliminally or not, this black man in a bow tie lures kids in through his static world, promising to protect them from “bad adults.” While the eventual backstory explanation of its lead character underwhelms, Mr. Crocket keeps gory practical effects and wildly creative puppetry at the forefront of its Wes Craven-inspired aesthetic.
The year is 1993, set in the sleepy town of Shurry Bottom, Pennsylvania. Kids around the area are starting to go missing, with their parents savagely murdered. The film’s opening scene gives us a glimpse as to the disgustingness at hand. Mr. Crocket helps a young boy get revenge on an abusive stepfather. Recalling the disgusting overeating death of A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child, Mr. Crocket slits open the man’s stomach, then crams all manner of objects into the open wound, including an iron and a nasty plate of food. This all occurs while the stepfather gets held down by an alligator and another warped creature from Mr. Crocket’s fantastical static world. Mr. Crocket himself appears to live in the TV screen’s static, calling out to children and offering to save them.
By starting the film in this manner, writer/director Brandon Espy establishes that he lovingly embraces the cheesy camp of a good horror slasher. Mr Crocket, as played by the manic Elvis Nolasco, belts and charms his way into the lives of the kids he chooses to abduct—Nolasco’s contagious energy makes his horror character wholly unique. Owing much to Freddy Kreuger and low budget, high personality slasher flicks such as The Ice Cream Man, the central baddie certainly looks the part. Accompanied by his disturbing puppet brethren, bathed in eerie red lighting, Mr. Crocket appears primed and ready to take over anyone’s dreamscape.
When little Major (Ayden Gavin) becomes Mr. Crocket’s next potential victim, Major’s determined mother (Jerrika Hinton) will stop at nothing to bring her son safely back home. Hinton makes a great foil to Mr. Crocket’s machinations over the children. Gavin does what he can with the script, but his role is not all that showy in comparison to his co-stars. While the actual body count remains a little on the low side compared to like-minded films in the genre, their effectiveness and graphic nature make the kills worth their weight in gold. Perhaps a new franchise could be hatched from the memorable clamshell of a collector’s edition VHS case.
The film’s puppetry and static world invoke a nightmarish nostalgia for old-school children’s shows. Eventually, a beautifully animated storybook delivers us a handy backstory for its central lead on a silver platter. This is maybe the weakest element of the script, as it serves to humanize Crocket himself slightly too much. The horror lies in the mystery of the unknown, and for some viewers this aspect of the story will probably make or break their enjoyment. That said, Crocket himself delivers enough jump scares and gory murders to recommend a watch. Based on the 2022 short of the same name, Mr. Crocket will make viewers think twice about the static on their older television screens.
Remember, sharing is caring! Don’t forget to tell all your friends about Mr. Crocket, converting a VHS tape to the world of streaming exclusively on Hulu on Friday, October 11th.
