Mr. Crocket

Mr. Crocket
Starring Jerrika Hinton, Ayden Gavin, Kristolyn Lloyd, Elvis Nolasco
Directed by Brandon Epsy

Everyone knows their names - Mr. Rogers, Pee Wee Herman - wholesome performers (well, at least Mr. Rogers) who graced our screens when we were children teaching us important lessons about life, love, and being a good person. Sometimes, these role models served as the only parents kids ever knew, since their own family lives were tumultuous and volatile, and the boob tube served as the perfect babysitter. "Mr. Crocket" takes this approach and turns it on its head, providing a horror film with impressive practical effects, an alluring villain, but ultimately a script that can't quite reach the credits.

In 1994, Summer (Jerrika Hinton) has just lost her husband, and her only son Major (Ayden Gavin) is being a major thorn in her side. He's unruly and unresponsive, acting out on the daily and causing Summer all kinds of headaches, ultimately declaring that she's done being his mother. Then she finds a mysterious little free library that appeared on her front lawn and takes a video titled "Mr. Crocket's World" and decides this will tame Major, or at least make him quiet for a time.

Major becomes obsessed with the show and its titular star, Mr. Crocket (Elvis Nolasco), but there's more to him than what's behind the screen. Mr. Crocket was once a man who was killed after kidnapping a child, and now his evil spirit haunts the video and abducts children from homes he deems "unsafe" by appearing through the television and taking the children to his world. Summer is attacked by Mr. Crocket, who takes Major to his world, and she enlists the help of fellow parent Rhonda (Kristolyn Lloyd) - who's son was also abducted - as well as Eddie (Alex Akpobome) who knows about Mr. Crocket to find her child as well as other missing children and bring them home.

"Mr. Crocket" is a fun, carefree film that checks all the traditional horror boxes and gives a unique, fresh new villain in Mr. Crocket, and is filled to the brim with unique practical effects - but the story overall is lacking. It's a typical tale where you know the final outcome, but the journey to get there is a rich tapestry of familial horror and decent performances that make for a more memorable film even if it's not immediately one you turn to every Halloween.

The movie centers on the titular character, played with evil glee by Elvis Nolasco. He is a demonic presence in the form of Mr. Rogers, a man who seemingly looks innocent and sweet, but under the skin there's an entity that desires the souls of children. Basically, he's like Freddy Krueger without haunting kids' nightmares, but still has the vocal chops to provide a memorable role. He scolds unruly parents and sweet talks children to joining his world where they'll play and eat ice cream forever, and while the script itself fails to capitalize on anything memorable, it does do a decent job at portraying real life fears.

Those fears are every parents' worst nightmare: losing a child. In the 90s especially, children went missing all the time (not that they don't now, but back then there wasn't cell phones that could track their every move), and it caused alarm for many parents, and "Mr. Crocket" hits that on the head with the child abductions. It's terrifying when a child is taken by a regular person, but when an entity comes through the television and uses a magic marker to take them to another world? That's something entirely frightening.

Yet therein also lies an intriguing premise. Mr. Crocket doesn't seem to take children from affluent neighborhoods, or kids with a loving home, but rather inner city children with broken families, most notably missing or neglectful fathers. Majors' father passed away, and we also see other family lives where a stepfather is verbally abusive, and another's father is a drug user - so Mr. Crocket finds these kids to bring them to what they think is a world of safety, joy, and eternal fun. It's weird to think about, because we see Mr. Crocket's world as it appears to us, but through the kids' brainwashed eyes it looks like the colorful studio set they saw from the video, and in all appearances it seems they're actually well taken care of, so it leaves a weird question: would it be better for them to stay there?

That question is pondered but abandoned in favor of a generic happy ending, which is to the film's detriment. If it had explored these more adult themes more thoroughly, it could've been a powerful gut-punch for parents to be better. As it is, it's a forgettable film with impressive practical effects, frightening creatures, decent gore and a strong lead villain - if only it had the story to back it up.

The Score: B-