Into the Dark: Pooka!

February 5, 2019 6:14 AM - Season 1, Episode 3

A struggling actor takes on a seasonal holiday job as the mascot for the year's hottest new toy: Pooka. However, after putting the costume on, he develops two personalities - one for himself, and one for Pooka.
posted by DirtyOldTown (5 comments total)

This was the first of the series I enjoyed. They did a great job making Pooka genuinely creepy in terms of creature design. The movie had a bit of a Black Mirror feel to it.

This was the first of these films that was effective even with a small cast and minimal effects. While I enjoyed this movie, considering the "hit rate" of Into Dark (I only liked 1/3 films), they would be better served by fewer films with more budget. that way they can focus not only on stronger stories, but larger casts. It's difficult to pull off a scary movie when you only have 2 or three people. Obviously it can be done, but to do it CONSISTENTLY is a pretty impressive feat and these movies aren't there yet by a long shot. Either make these films into shorts (30 minutes) or make fewer films with bigger budgets/casts.
posted by miss-lapin at 6:35 AM on February 5, 2019

I agree that this one is the first worth seeing. It's still a bit overlong but bringing Nacho Vigalondo (Timecrimes) on board as a director was a great move. He has as much trouble as ever in sustaining his weird genius over a longer running time though. I'd love to see him do some work on the new Twilight Zone, though. He's aces at short stuff.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 6:51 AM on February 5, 2019 [1 favorite]

So I looked it up and Nacho is also responsible for Parallel Monsters in V/H/S Viral, which is one of my favorites. He definitely needs a Twilight Zone ep.
posted by miss-lapin at 7:16 AM on February 5, 2019

Nacho's short films are amazing.

If you've never seen them, I recommend 7:35 in the Morning and Sunday.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 7:34 AM on February 5, 2019 [2 favorites]

Timecrimes was on Shudder Tv the other night and I was like "I gotta rewatch that!"
posted by miss-lapin at 8:11 AM on February 5, 2019 [1 favorite]