31 days of horror movies: Hulu Into the Dark: Down is elevated horror

What is it about elevators that are so scary? These claustrophobia-inducing inventions are handy but there’s always a potential for terror and death (just ask Rosalind from LA Law or the folks from the film Devil—-oh wait. You can’t. They’re dead). Into the Dark, Hulu’s series of holiday-inspired horror movies, taps into the subgenre of elevator horror with Down, the fifth episode of Season 1.

Down is Valentine’s Day-inspired horror flick I watched recently while browsing Hulu’s horror section. The premise is refreshingly simple; two people with Valentine’s Day weekend plans leave their high-rise office building but become trapped on a malfunctioning elevator together. The long hours slowly morph into days as the two trapped occupants play off each other and realize something is not quite right. One of them has a secret they are willing to kill for.

Hulu: into the dark down is elevator horror.

Into The Dark — “Down” – A pair of office of workers get trapped in an elevator over a long ValentineÕs Day weekend, but what at first promises to be a romantic connection turns dangerous and horrifying in this Blumhouse mash – up of rom – com and horror film genres. Guy (Matt Lauria) and Jennifer (Natalie Martinez), shown. (Photo by: Richard Foreman, Jr. SMPSP/Hulu) /

Directed by Daniel Stamm (13 Sins, The Last Exorcism) Down initially presents itself as a romance between two people trapped in an unlikely and dangerous situation, but it quickly evolves into bloody horror when Jennifer (Natalie Martinez) realizes the man trapped with her, Guy, (Matt Lauria) is not who he says. Guy is obsessed with her and has stalked her for some time. As the building security guard, Guy planned the elevator malfunction over the weekend, knowing he and Jennifer likely wouldn’t be found for 72 hours.

Jennifer fights back the best she can but there’s only so much she can do in the enclosed spaces of a metal box hanging hundreds of feet in the air. She must rely on manipulation and wordplay to survive, but once the action starts, it doesn’t let up and Jennifer proves she has a lot more fight in her than the weak, pathetic, angry Guy.

Down is by no means a perfect horror movie but it doesn’t have to be. It’s thrilling and suspenseful, and the two leads are charming (at least until the gloves come off and Guy’s true nature reveals itself). Martinez steals the spotlight as the hardworking and kindly Jennifer who is pushed to the limit to escape a nightmare. If you’re looking for a simple but effective horror movie to watch this spooky season, check out Down on Hulu.

Next. Blumhouse’s Into the Dark releases gay slasher film to celebrate New Year’s Eve. dark

Did you watch any of the films included in Hulu’s Into the Dark? Which was your favorite? Tell us about it in the comments section.

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