INTO THE DARK: TENTACLES (2021) – A clingy love story

Hulu’s anthology series Into the Dark went er, dark after its episode in July 2020 with no reasons given. The anthology series offers stand alone tales of horror each month with a theme or link to a holiday or festive occasion that occurs in that month. I would assume that the disruptions to filming sequence due to the pandemic may have been a factor to Into the Dark’s disappearance. It was a pity as the series was finally beginning to turn things around for the better with it later episodes that had more originality and creativity. I was happy to note the series’ return with a brand new feature length episode paying tribute to February’s Valentine’s Day, although this connection was not explicitly made.

The episode Tentacles starts off with a whirlwind romance between a homeless attractive woman and a self doubting real estate agent cum aspiring photographer. Seeing these two flawed characters attain happiness in their relationship provide viewers with the suspenseful and uneasy feeling of dread as we just know something is not normal or right about it. While this initial development was well executed, I thought the suspense to tell the truth took too long. It is never a good sign when we as the viewer begin to get increasingly impatient and form our own conclusions before the film does. The final revelation could be an anti-climax if the viewers’ imagination turns out to be a more exciting one.

Tentacles has some nice moments and independent movie feel, but it suffers from a slow pacing and a lack of chemistry between its two main stars. I welcome its signal as an indication of the return of Into the Dark, and hope to see more original tales of horror from Hulu in the months ahead.