Blumhouse
definitely enjoys playing games, whether it be a friendly round of Truth or Dare, or a laidback session with the Ouija Board. This game will not be so easy
for viewers to play at home, but why in the world would they want to? The rules
are rigged and the stakes are life-and-death in Paul Davis’s Uncanny Annie, the first instalment of
the second season of the Blumhouse-produced Into
the Dark, which is now streaming on Hulu.
In
honor of their late gamer friend, a group of college students will stay in this
Halloween, playing one of his beloved board games and drinking heavily
(naturally). Unfortunately, they chose the strange looking one nobody
recognizes, named “Uncanny Annie.” Of course, once they start playing, they quickly
discover they are in over their heads, but have no choice but to play the game
through.
Technically,
they are playing against Uncanny Annie, sort of like one of the Shining twins, aged-up two or three years,
but she will have help from a few other supernatural entities. Each player must
successfully complete the challenges they draw from the magical, ever shifting
deck of cards, or they die and become emblazoned on the game’s vintage box.
Needless to say, they are rarely given a sporting chance.
Davis
exploits the claustrophobic, minimalist setting and the terrifically creepy art
and design work to crank up the tension. There is no question this is the
scariest feature-length episode of Into
the Dark we’ve reviewed. It could also be the darkest, in purely visual
terms, but cinematographer James Kniest never lets the encroaching blackness
obscure the on-screen action.
Karlisha
Hurley is wildly unsettling as Uncanny Annie. Arguably, she is the most
important cast member, even though she has considerably less screen-time than
the other “players.” However, Adelaide Kane. Georgie Flores, and Paige McGhee
all exceed genre expectations with their sporting conviction, thereby giving us
three valid contenders for the final girl/sole survivor.
Frankly,
the twisted mechanics of the Uncanny Annie game are on a par with the
delightfully gory Game of Death and
it even manages to hang with Beyond the Gates, even though it does not have the benefit of the great Barbara Crampton.
Highly recommended for horror fans, Uncanny
Annie is now available to watch on Hulu.
