Into the Dark: New Year, New You

By Dave B.

In Into The Dark: New Year, New You (Hulu) four former high school friends gather for an intimate New Year’s celebration. However, the success of one of them has strained the bonds that they once shared. As the alcohol flows, the group begins to confront shared demons from their past. When the jealousy and rage bubbling under the surface of their get-together eventually explode, will anyone be left standing?

Although New Year, New You isn’t my favorite installment of “Into the Dark”, it’s quite probably the highest quality offering of the series thus far. It combines strong, realistic, tragic messaging with an adrenaline-inducing slasher vibe that fits together perfectly. The first half of the 85 minute episode captivates audiences by slowly unraveling the mystery behind the tension in the group. What first appears to be mere envy turns out to be a more complex, more nuanced, more justified anger. Once the truth is revealed, the carefully created mystery turns into a well-crafted thriller that successfully balances an overall sense of dread with a bit of non-gratuitous violence.

What really makes New year, New You work so well is its ending. It perfectly encapsulates the subtle theme pervading the episode, that utter ruthlessness is often one of the key requirements for material success. The last few minutes of the episode are believable in a way that isn’t common in many horror offerings and is a welcome change of pace from flashier, but less well-written fare that often gets more acclaim. 

Into the Dark: New Year, New Me is a well-written, capably-acted, very thoughtful psychological horror and I enjoyed it a lot. The only reason that it isn’t my favorite episode of “Into the Dark” is that I tend to prefer horror/thriller entertainment that has more science-fiction elements. Nonetheless, I highly recommend this installment of the series. It offers valuable lessons for anyone willing to hear them. 

Rating: 8/10