Horror Movie Review: Mr. Crocket (2024)

Promising something far more creative than it inevitably can deliver, Mr. Crocket is a frustrating watch. Even with a solid story from director Brandon Espy and Carl Reid, and a strong villainous portrayal of the titular character by Elvis Nolasco.

Playing Mr. Crocket, who we’re introduced to as the host of Mr. Crocket’s World, alongside his puppets Boogaloo Blue and Squawky Bird. The show isn’t on the air, but can be watched via a mysterious VHS, and that is what ends up in the hands of the youngster Major (Ayden Gavin) and his mother, Summer (Jerrika Hinton). The boy is enamoured with the show, something Summer is glad to see as both her and Major are struggling since the death of her husband and his father.

Struggles that cause conflict constantly, resulting in an argument where Summer says something she regrets to Major and sends him to his room. This is where Mr. Crocket comes in, emerging from the TV and using his ‘magic marker’ to take Major away, much to the shock of Summer.

Not so much the viewer though as the film gives us two other instances of Mr. Crocket emerging from the TV before this big plot development. Not only showing off his sinister demeanour, but also how dangerous he can be, and how he seemingly only comes for kids who are unloved and/or being abused. That would make him a hero, except he is a demonic entity taking on the form of a children’s entertainer who died many years before. A demonic entity that has its own sinister intentions for the children it is ‘saving’. Can Summer stop Mr. Crocket and save Major?

It’s all so familiar and easily one of the biggest criticisms most will have of the film. It’s not just the lack of originality, it’s the predictability of it and how unimaginative the end experience ends up being. From the mysterious and sinister entity, to the familial drama and burgeoning conflict, to the separation and subsequent investigation into the entity, to the eventual face-off, obvious betrayal by a side-character, and final big decision making moment. We’ve seen it all before, and Mr. Crocket isn’t offering anything special here.

Except, it does have a strong cast and some impressive practical effects. The former is dominated by Elvis Nolasco as Mr. Crocket, portraying a kindness that would be effective to most, but having these intense character switches that are startling. He’s great, as is the dynamic between Jerrika Hinton’s Summer and Ayden Gavin’s Major. Both are believable as mother and son going through a hell of a lot.

Whereas the latter, the practical effects, give us some really cool looking moments and, surprisingly, a lot of gore. This is the sort of film you don’t expect to see a lot of gore in it, but it goes for it.

These are positive aspects of the film, creating strong conflict feelings as there’s nothing objectively bad about Mr. Crocket. It’s just not as good as it could have been.