Movie Review: Into The Dark: Down (2019)

I’m a big fan of Hulu’s Into the Dark series, a run of 12 unrelated fright flicks released on per major holiday for a full year of which today’s feature Down will be the 5th entry…the films so far have been full of suspense and fun, and have been a devious delight to behold. Let’s see if that trend continues…
Down concerns two strangers, Jennifer and Guy played by Natalie Martinez and Matt Lauria respectively, who become trapped in an elevator while trying to exit an office building on Valentine’s Day. They spend their time getting to learn about each other and try to make the best of their time trapped in that beastly box…but unfortunately, that is about all of a sinister synopsis as I can give without spoiling things, outside of saying things go dark along the way…and what with this being a horror series and all that should come as no surprise…
Directed by Daniel Stamm and Written by Kent Kubena, Down is definitely a unique entry into the already wildly divergent Into the Dark series. With it’s awkwardness of the personalities at play making for an intriguing rom-com vibe (but don’t worry horror hounds, the piece also serves as a stalk n’ slay effort as well and there is some solid gore here and there), and the chemistry between Martinez and Lauria is infectious making their journey an intriguing one for us lot watchin’ at home.
On the down side, the tension present in the previous four entries of the series is minimized here (though it definitely ramps up later in the film) in favor of the character interaction (which isn’t a huge problem, but some of you cats and creeps may be a tad sad about that one), and the story takes some predictable turns that dings the narrative here and there…but again, to say more would ruin shit faster than your racist, alcoholic uncle at Thanksgiving…if you have one…I don’t, but I hear they ruin things rather quickly…
Lighter than the previous Into the Dark episode, but with a likable cast and solid stalk n’ slay aesthetic, Down is well worth fixin’ your putrid peepers upon!