Into the Dark is a daring dive into the streaming world by Blumhouse Productions because unlike most anthology series, these installments span the length of a feature film. This means bloodthirsty horror fans will be treated to a brand new, full-on scary movie the first Friday of every month courtesy of Hulu. Each episode is holiday-themed, which makes it twice the fun.

The first one out the gate, just in time for Halloween on October 5, is called The Body. The Body was originally released as a short film that was co-written by director Paul Davis and Paul Fischer. It’s a real wild, whacky and wonderful concept—the tale follows a high-class hitman known as Wilkes (Tom Bateman) who does his best work on All Hallows Eve. It’s the perfect cover: He can drag a bloody body from the killing floor to its makeshift resting place without anyone even raising an eyebrow. Everyone thinks the wrapped-in-plastic stiff is just a prop, until Wilkes is waylaid by a trio of party-animals who insist he stop in “for just one drink.” Little do they know, they are signing their own death warrants.

While we’ve seen this setup before, I must say it’s seldom been pulled off with such brio and charm. Team Paul has done a masterful job of creating characters we either can relate to or we know in real life—the clichés and horror tropes are delightfully exploited and celebrated rather than used and abused. What’s more, the writing—from dialogue to plot-twists—is devilishly clever. The Body is not only a sold horror flick, it’s a great comedy too.

Casting actors with comedic experience and great timing certainly helps. Ray Santiago, whom horror-hounds know from his stint in the Ash vs. Evil Dead TV series, is spot-on as the party-boy wannabe who can afford to hire Sasha Grey to DJ his Halloween party, but doesn’t have the wherewithal to walk his talk. Then there’s David Hull as Allan, the wisecracking Millennial who wears a #Me tee-shirt and who, if he went back 20+ years in time, would be a dead ringer for Stu Macher in Scream. Two strong female characters round out the cast. Dorothy (Aurora Perrineau) is sassy and savvy, while Maggie (Rebecca Rittenhouse) is a mysterious wild card.

If The Body is any indication of how the Into the Dark series is going to unfold, I think legions of horror fans are going to tuning in each and every month to see what’s next.

Not Rated
1 Hour 45 Minutes