Into the Dark: School Spirit (2019)

Hulu's unique anthology series is now into its eleventh episode, with just one more month to go before it completes its first year cycle of one horror theme standalone episode per month. The month of August is probably a bit of a challenge in terms of finding any festivities associated with the month because there isn't really anything for the western culture. School Spirit stretches the concept a little by tying in this episode with the annual ritual of returning to school after the summer break.

I personally always liked anthology series because they offer a proper closure without leaving the audience hanging with a cliff hanger which you need to continue watching at some other time in the future, usually a year later. By not having any fixed plot, or cast, we can basically expect anything. In the horror genre, the element of surprise is always welcome, plus often these episodes feel like mini independent movies experimenting with some crazy styles and plot.

Alas, School Spirit does not benefit from this. Instead, this episode plays like a low budget slasher movie with nothing new or creative to offer. The simple plot takes place in a deserted school building over a weekend with a bunch of misfit students doing their detention. The show utilises all the standard clichés in the genre to generate its scares and drive its paper thin plot. But despite this familiarity, I have to admit that this episode was mildly engaging thanks to the energy of its cast, and how it ultimately feels like a homage to the slasher movies of the past. It's all pretty silly and predictable, but its serves its purpose well as a piece of undemanding pop corn movie to consume and discard immediately after.

With just one more month left for season 1, I do hope Into the Dark's September entry would be a killer episode to end the series on a high note. So far, its past episodes had more misses than hits which is a pity. I would like to see the series continue to a much improved season two. I understand that Hulu has recently confirmed the series will continue with a season 2 with another 12 more feature length installments, each inspired by a holiday in the month beginning from October, the month of Halloween.