Into the Dark: Pure (2019)

This is the final episode of the first season of Hulu's anthology series Into the Dark. Any hopes for a knock out episode to end the so far lack lustre series were however dashed with this. This month's episode is supposed to be linked to something called "Daughter's Day" (I have to admit I have never heard of such a celebration - Mother's Day and Father's Day yes .. Daughter's Day? Hmmmm).

It has a far fetched tale about some cult like religious movement who hold an annual ritual during Daughter's Day where the fathers and daughters would spend a weekend together in a far away camp to establish or renew vows and pledges by the young ladies to behave and remain virgins until marriage. It starts off interesting enough and even had some nice haunting images of the cult activities amidst the lush natural greenery of the camp. But the plot soon turns out to be some sort of twisted campaign and support for the current women's rights and #MeToo movement. So, it soon becomes obvious that every women in this tale is a victim of some sort, and all the guys are bad. This simplistic black and white depiction of characters is just lazy story telling in my opinion, and really offers no motivation for the viewer to even finish the episode since its conclusion where all the guys will not end up well is foregone. I never like it when thrillers or horror tales find it necessary to used as tools to support political motives. This was done to great extreme in the otherwise, very well produced revived Twilight Zone series by the very biased Jordan Peele, and now slowly creeping in to other shows as well.

With Pure, the monthly installments for Season 1 concludes. I understand that Hulu has renewed this for a Season 2!  Presumably Season 2 will pick up immediately next month with the appropriate Halloween theme as in Season 1. I am still rooting for this anthology series to improve as I feel it offers the perfect vehicle for something fresh and creative to look forward to each month. Sort of like a series of indie films with a horror theme. Season 1 was uneven with moments of brilliance but mostly tame and restrained. If I have to pick my favourite 3 episodes from Season 1, it would be its first episode for Halloween "Body Part" which felt fresh and had humour mixed with the gore; the Valentine's Day episode "Down" which proved less can mean more, as all we got were the gradual dread that unfolds with two characters in a trapped lift; and the Mother's Day episode "All That We Destroy" which had an almost Black Mirror feel to it as it takes on a futuristic premise and how advanced technology can go wrong. Hopefully Season 2 will see bolder episodes that are more original and less predictable or cliched, and bogged down by political statements.