Into the Dark: Treehouse (2019)

Director James Roday with cast members Jimmi Simpson and Sophia Del Pizzo

I have been looking forward each month to see what's the monthly offering from the horror anthology series Into the Dark, from Hulu as I always liked my horror movies served with an unexpected twist. Sadly the entry to March is the poorest in the series since it was launched last October.

There are multiple issues I have with this episode. Firstly, the story violated the unwritten code for the series which is supposed to base each monthly episode with a theme related to a holiday or event that occurs in that month. Granted the month of March may be a tough month since I can think of no major (non Asian) festival that falls within the month. However, that is the challenge which the series has taken on and should honour. Instead, Treehouse just jumps into its tale of retribution with a touch of witchcraft, without a reference to any event in March. The only idea which I read in one review was that the episode could be tied in to the "Ides of March" which is usually meant to signify the 15th of March. It is also significant for being the date when Julius Caesar was assassinated, giving rise to the phrase "beware the Ides of March", used as a warning and a deadline for settling debts.

Secondly, I felt there were too many characters introduced who ended up having little or almost no impact to the story. I mean these characters who used up valuable screen time could have easily not been included without making any difference to the overall story.

Lastly, I had issue with the theme and its "message". The #metoo era that we live in today, particular in the USA is a dangerous one. Women who felt they have been wronged or sexually harassed in the past by men take on the role of judge jury and executioner. The outlandish plot takes this one step further with the "execution" part through torturing. Is this the age where revenge is the answer and that it is okay to torture your tormentor in ways far worst that they had done to you? Doesn’t that make the tormented a worst person than the tormentor?

On the plus side we have Jimmi Simpson taking on the lead role. Many of you would probably recognise Jimmi who plays the younger William in HBO's Westworld. He comes across as believable, and dare I say it, even likeable here in an otherwise thankless role.

Let's hope the month of April would bring us a better tale .....