Into the Dark’s Down: Will you be my candy coated killer?

So far, Into the Dark has stayed true to form. Blumhouse’s anthology series has infused classic horror with a comedic twist. Down is more of a straight horror flick. It’s taught, scary, and a great addition to the series.

The premise for Down is fairly simple. Two lonely people get stuck on an elevator. A killer emerges, which is followed by a gritty, scratchy, and creepy fight for survival. No. This is not Blumhouse’s take on ATM. There are spoilers ahead.

Of course, there’s more to the story. Natalie Martinez (The Crossing) plays Jen. Matt Lauria (Parenthood) plays Guy. Both are seen to be working late on the Friday before a three day weekend. It’s a Valentine’s Day and President’s Day combo.

I can hear jingles for mattress commercials as I type. Both Jen and Guy seem to hold decent positions at their respective firms. Neither needs to be working this late. But, alas, they are lonely.

Written by Kent Kubena (Turistas) and directed by Daniel Stamm (The Last Exorcism), Down looks at how our two trapped friends react to their loneliness. In the end, being clingy will always beat out being a psychopath.

Getting to Know You

Jen and Guy try to make the best of an unnerving situation. They quickly come to grips with the fact that they may have to spend over 80 hours with each other. A quick inventory of rations shows the two have about one total bottle of water, a bottle of decent wine, and a bunch of Hershey’s Kisses that Jen scooped up on her way out of her office.

Into The Dark -Down-Courtesy of Hulu

The two really do bond. Guy seems to be good at this. Almost like he’s done this before or had some practice. An embarrassing obstacle is overcome when Jen pees into a thermos. This seems to break the ice even more between the two and they share what their plans were for the long weekend.

Jen was going to fly to her ex’s place and make him break up with his girlfriend. When she says this, you can almost see that Jen looks at this elevator ordeal as a possible blessing. Taking a plane and showing up at your ex’s place unannounced is pretty high up there on the list of clingy things you can do. (I’ve had the overall list explained to me a lot through the years.)

Guy didn’t really have plans. Instead, he relates to Jen by talking about a steamy encounter with a woman that he once had. Guy has a physical reaction to this, which Jen isn’t turned off by at all. In a boss move, Jen moves in and sticks her hand down Guy’s pants to make sure he’s got something worth an elevator rendevous.

This is literally the climax of their relationship. After the two have sex, everything goes extremely bad for both for drastically different reasons. Jen feels violated and trapped with someone who just assaulted her. Guy, well, let’s talk about Guy.

A New Level of Harassment

Guy’s real name isn’t Guy. Guy does not have a job at any firm in the building. This isn’t even the first time he’s seen Jen as he had originally told her.

He’s a security guard at the building. In fact, he’s the only one on duty all weekend. So, any calls for distress will remain unanswered. Which is perfect, because Guy planned this whole ordeal.

Into The Dark -Down-Courtesy of Hulu

When Jen wasn’t looking, he turned the emergency stop key. The reason he was not phased by being trapped and appeared to be comfortable talking to Jen is because he had completely mapped this out days, maybe weeks, before.

Yikes. What a creep. Everyone has heard of, with many sadly experiencing, getting cornered in an office or a break room. Most of those exchanges are predicated on the abuse of power.

Here, Guy’s knowledge is power. He used what he knows about Jen to trap her, gain her trust, have sex with her, and make a pitch for them to be together. Man, alive!

Jen makes a move for the emergency stop key, which breaks it. The two are now really trapped and locked in a fight to the death. Both gain and loose the upper hand, make near escapes, and Guy almost gets castrated by Jen.

Into The Dark -Down-Courtesy of Hulu

I won’t spoil anymore. You may have been able to figure out that Guy is less than noble, even from the trailer. How the rest of the movie plays out is fun and inventive. This is Blumhouse, after all.

It had to make its mark at some point. Thus, relieving some tension without killing the momentum of the moviesode.

Love is: Scary

Overall, I really enjoyed Into the Dark’s Down. It didn’t leave me feeling the same was as Pooka! or New Year, New You. But that’s okay. This is a higher octane character study mapped over a horror thriller.

Martinez and Lauria are great in their roles. The actress makes the fear and anger palpable on her face and in her actions. Lauria seems to have a great time playing a real creep, which is the only way that role works as good as it does. Check out Down exclusively on Hulu starting Feb.1.

Are you keeping up with Into the Dark? Are you excited for Down? Let’s discuss in the comments!