'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Brandon Epsy's film, Mr. Crocket was released on Hulu on October 11, 2024. The horror film is based on an episode of Hulu's Bite Size Halloween Series, which was released in 2022. The film is a part of Hulu's Halloween Special line-up and is available for streaming on the platform.
Epsy and Carl Reid have co-written Mr. Crocket, while Worthen Brooks has produced it alongside Josh Feldman, Sean King O'Grady, and Jesse Ford as the co-producers. Meanwhile, David Brooks, Jenna Cavelle, Arbi Pedrossian, and Carl Reid are the film's lead producers.
According to Rotten Tomatoes, the film's synopsis reads:
"In 1993, a mysterious children's show host, Mr. Crocket, magically emerges from television sets to kidnap young children, brutally slaying their parents in the process. After Mr. Crocket snatches her son, one determined mother embarks on a perilous quest to track down the demonic entertainer and rescue her boy."
Trending
The film follows a boy, kidnapped by the titular villain and the boy's mother's quest to rescue him. However, at the end of the movie, Mr. Crocket and the boy reunite, forming a kind of father-son dynamic. It raises the possibility that the young boy may follow in his evil footsteps.
Major forms a close bond with his abductor in Hulu's Mr. Crocket
Set in the early 1990s, Mr. Crocket follows Summer (Jerrika Hinton), as she struggles with her son Major's temper tantrums following the death of her husband. One day, she comes across a VHS tape of an old children’s show, Mr. Crocket’s World, which Major ends up watching for hours on end.
The two get into a heated argument over Major's excessive screen time use. Later that night, Summer finds the show's host stepping out of the TV screen and abducting Major before disappearing back into the screen.
She sets off to find her son and, upon closer investigation, discovers that Mr. Crocket had died a decade ago. Summer connects with other parents - Eddie and Rhonda - who also lost their kids to the mysterious man under similar circumstances. Using Rhonda's psychic powers, the trio locate the next victim.
They fail to stop the latest victim from getting kidnapped, but enter the portal (television set) in time to reach the eerie-looking set of Mr. Crocket's World. It is here that they find all the missing kids, who seem to be brainwashed and under the host's spell.
Eddie and Rhonda are swiftly killed, leaving Summer to single-handedly defeat the titular villain and rescue her son. She tries to convince Major to leave with her and, when that fails, blows out a whistle to help him snap out of the spell. The whistle reminds Major of how his mother promised to always be on his team after his father's death.
Just then, the villain draws out a sword with his magic marker, which can bring anything to life. He instigates Major to kill his mother by handing him the sword. Instead, Major gives his mother the magic marker he stole from Crocket while hugging him a few moments ago. Summer uses the marker to kill the abductor by cutting him in half. She then draws a new portal and escapes with Major and the other kids.
After they arrive in the real world, Summer and Major try to repair their relationship and bond all over again. However, Major secretly reconnects with his abductor's evil spirit and begins displaying violent tendencies. The horror film hints that Mr. Crocket most likely passes down his demonic legacy to the young boy, whom he comes to see as his son and heir.
Mr. Crocket's backstory explained
Mr. Crocket was born Emmanuel in an abusive household with a father who left him with a lot of trauma. Emmanuel eventually escaped after killing his father. However, that impacted him greatly and led to him feeling a strong desire to protect children with abusive parents.
Emanuel starts hosting the kids' TV show, Mr. Crocket's World, in a bid to spread happiness among young kids. However, things take a turn when he meets a lonely young boy, Anthony Williams. Emmanuel learns about Anthony's unsafe home environment and kidnaps him to protect him from his family.
However, the police soon find Anthony with Emmanuel and try to take him back home. As Emmanuel tries to stop them, he gets killed. He then makes a deal with the Devil to fulfill his lifelong wish to provide a safe home for abused children.
With his new powers, he can rescue abused kids by drawing a portal to the real world with his magic marker. He brings the kids back to his "paradise" and keeps them under his spell so that they are stuck at the same age and never grow up to be adults.
In exchange for the powers, the Devil asks him to brutally kill the parents before snatching their kids away. In his quest to protect the helpless, Emanuel ends up becoming a cold-hearted monster and Devil's minion.
Eddie shares a past history with Emanuel
Anthony Williams, the young boy whom Emanuel kidnapped in 1979 and ultimately died for, grows up as the character, Eddie. He somehow figures out that Emanuel is behind the abductions and seeks to reunite with his savior, who made him feel truly accepted as a kid.
With Rhonda and Summer's help, he manages to reunite with his father figure and hopes to stay with him forever. However, the children's show host rebuffed him. The host only wanted to save young and impressionable children. The rejection hurts Eddie, who is eventually eaten by a huge monster named Blue.
Cast of the film
The film's cast list includes:
- Jerrika Hinton as Summer Beverly
- Ayden Gavin as Major
- Elvis Nolasco as Mr. Crocket
- Kristolyn Lloyd as Rhonda
- Alex Akpobome as Eddie Briggs
- Lyla Randall as Kelli
- Akim Black as Kevin
- Jermaine Rivers as Jerrel
- Riley Vinson as Carey
- Matthew LB McCollum as Young Anthony
- Jabari Striblin as Darren
- Gina Jarrin as the Guidance Counselor
- Melanie Christine Leon-Soon as the 70's Crocket kid
The film tells the story of Summer, who saves her son Major from the clutches of a demonic spirit, Mr. Crocket. She discovers that the TV show host abducted several children after entering their homes through a portal he draws with his magic marker.
The film is available for streaming on Hulu.
