Mr. Crocket is one of many new horror projects debuting on Hulu this Spooky Season.
Directed by Brandon Espy, and adapted from Espy’s short film of the same name, the film follows a mother’s search for her son, after the host of an old children’s TV show (played by Elvis Nolasco) comes out of her television set and kidnaps him. When nobody believes her, she takes matters into her own hands, uncovering a pattern of other abducted kids as well as the truth about the sinister host along the way.
While you can read our full review for the film here, our very own Editor-In-Chief, Dempsey Pillot, got a chance to speak to both Espy and Nolasco about the origin of the project and its themes.
In the interview, Espy explained that the idea of the film came from his own child. “My son inspired me,” he said. “He was very obsessed with kid shows.” He explained that there was one kid show hosts that he couldn’t break his son’s attention from. Naturally he wondered, what if he played that up into a more horrific extreme.
“It was kind of scary in a way because [I’d] be right by him, calling his name, and he wouldn’t even answer…like he’s gone. So [I wondered] ‘Am I even his daddy anymore?'”
He thought it was interesting how children’s show hosts easily entrance children in such vulnerable states.
“[They] may be filling a void that that kid may have needed, that the parent may be not be [realizing],” he said. “That was scary to me.”
Nolasco, on the other hand, spoke about the pleasure he had in delivering such a nightmarish performance as the titular antagonist. Still, he explained that there is enough social commentary in the film that he hopes people are able to digest beyond the horror. He said, “It’s not just about watching your kids, but what are your kids watching?”
You can check out the full interview below!
Mr. Crocket is now available to stream exclusively on Hulu!
