Director: Paul Davis
Notable Cast: Tom
Bateman, Rebecca Rittenhouse, Aurora Perrineau, David Hull, Ray Santiago
With the recent boom of horror that has culminated over the
last handful of years, reaching strange heights when the genre started winning Academy
Awards last year, it was only a matter of time before the Masters of Horror format was revitalized. This latest series of
films, under the moniker Into the Dark,
has nothing to with the iconic Mick Garris series that premiered on Showtime,
but the idea remains the same. Instead of Showtime, it's Hulu. Instead of Mick Garris, it's Blumhouse. Into the
Dark will premiere a new horror film each mouth, partnering with the horror
juggernaut Blumhouse, and each film will be coordinated with a holiday within
the month that it is released. Honestly, that sounds like a pretty fuckin’ good
deal to me.
The first film to be released within the Into the Dark series is The Body. Fittingly, the film features a
hit man who is caught in a bad situation on Halloween night and he’s left dragging
a body around in a desperate attempt to get it to its destination within four
hours. Craziness ensues, a body count rises, and the hit man drops multiple dry humor monologues about his dark view point on life as a strange romantic interest blooms. The Body is an odd film, but, truthfully, it’s a fantastic film to release around Halloween and a great way
to kick off the series.
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| Beauty and the beast? Classic costumes. |
The concept for The
Body does lend itself to being more than the usual horror thriller and the
focus of the film has an effective amount of genre bending. The core
of the film remains grounded as a horror thriller where an almost inhuman hit man stalks
and slaughters a group of young adults when they cross his path and end up in
his sights. Director Paul Davis plays up some fantastic kill sequences that lean into the slasher territory, particularly in the third act, while the
use of the various settings work to create a moody atmosphere that horror fans
will more than appreciate. Partner this with a strong sense of tension and
great use of lighting to develop tone and there is a lot of horror elements to enjoy
in The Body.
Surprisingly, the best part of the film is just how effectively
it uses humor in its plotting and narrative. There are some unique genre
elements present in the film, in particular when it comes to a strange and
weirdly hypnotic romantic subplot, but it’s the humor that truly shines here. The
stoic approach of the hit man, the panic of the people that accidentally cross
his path and end up with the titular body, and the surprisingly fun banter and
wit of the writing all create a film that’s a riot to watch. The narrative moves
briskly from each obstacle as a cat and mouse game arises in the second and
third acts and the dark humor mixed with energetic performances only create
more entertainment out of the concept. It's horror at its heart, but it wears its blackened humor on its sleeve with pride.
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| Halloween never comes out clean. |
Considering that The
Body was crafted as a longer version of a short film also from director Paul
Davis, there is a lot of quality and entertainment to be found in this debut
film for the series. It’s easy to watch, incredibly entertaining, and it finds
that perfect balance between hilarious and shocking. It features energetic
performances and a wicked sense of wit that carries it through some of the more
predictable tid bits. If the rest of the Into
the Dark series continues with this quality, this will be a phenomenal win
for both Hulu and Blumhouse during this high tide of horror.
Color me very excited to see what the next entry has to offer
in November.
Written By Matt Reifschneider
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