Blumhouse…man they know how to do it don’t they? Outside of creating the best theatrically released horror in the last 5 years or more they’ve, somewhat quietly moved into TV…or in the case of their Into the Dark series with Hulu, some kind of hybrid. Into the Dark is an anthology series, in the sense that there are regularly released episodes with a similar theme (horror), but those “episodes” are actually full feature films. 20 “episodes” to be specific with their latest installment Into the Dark: Delivered, 20 feature films grouped into an anthology over a little over 2 years is something that only the house of Blum could do if you ask me. All of this praise aside, they haven’t really been making waves in popularity but that all started to change with Into the Dark: Crawlers which really caught genre fans with it’s B-movie feel with top tier execution, plus who doesn’t love a good alien/body-snatcher type story? This latest installment, Delivered, may have a focused fear target but those who are within the cross hairs will feel it deeply. Having a kid is a terrifying and wholly exciting time on it’s own….but if you add in outside forces with their own idea for the future of your progeny and your ventured into downright terrifying territory.
Into the Darkness: Delivered follows Valerie and Tom (Natalie Paul and Michael Cassidy, respectively) very anxiously await the arrival of their little one and seem to be the textbook young parents to-be, right down to attending pre-natal yoga class. It’s at one of these classes that they meet Jenny (played deliciously by Tina Majorino) another expectant mother who seems to be all on her own. Valerie finds some solace in having someone else to share her anxiety with in Jenny and the two become friends. It’s obvious from second one that there’s something off about Jenny, and that rolls into my only issues with this episode. It’s really a result of Mjorino’s excellent performance that borders between socially awkward and sociopathic, but because we know what we’re watching, and perhaps because we’re on higher alert it becomes obvious where the danger is from Natalie Paul and Michael Cassidy do a good job of portraying the two as nervous people looking for some comfort which helps keep you from getting angry when they make a decision that seems stupid…whenever we have those “Don’t go in there idiot!” moments in horror it’s easy to forget that the characters don’t actually know they’re in a horror movie, this is the place that Valerie and Tom really help the story along by being so normal and so relatable that you can give them a pass or two.
The end result is a twist by definition, but if you’ve been paying attention it will not come as any surprise. That doesn’t make it less satisfying, well…maybe a bit less, but not enough to take away from the enjoyment of the surprisingly gory culmination. I will say that people without children may not feel the same effect, and those that are currently with child probably want to stay away. The last thing you need when navigating the 7th month of pregnancy is to have labor induced from stress and scare! Everyone left will have a good, well at least a tense and terrifying, time with Into the Dark: Delivered. For what’s it’s worth seeing Crawlers and now Delivered has me making room in my queue to catch up on the other 18 episodes. I’ve been hearing good things about Pooku, so that’s a place to start.
