Review of Into the Dark: Culture Shock

By Dave B.

Into the Dark: Culture Shock (Hulu) follows Marisol, a young Mexican woman, as she tries to make her way to the United States to provide a better life for herself and her unborn child. The journey is fraught with danger and betrayal, but the most terrifying threat that Marisol faces is beyond imagining. For her, the American Dream is about to become a horrifying nightmare.

Culture Shock is basically divided into two halves. In the first half, Marisol does everything in her power to escape her destitute hometown and make her way to the United States. The storytelling in this section is powerful and represents the strongest human interest element in any story of the Into the Dark anthology. While the first half of Culture Shock represents horror on an individual level, the second half deals with horror in a more institutional, but no less terrifying sense. Marisol finds herself in a seemingly idyllic representation of the American Dream, but one that just feels wrong to her on every level. The determination that she displays to uncover the truth is laudable.

With immigration being a major issue in the United States at the moment, Culture Shock is timely. It’s also likely to be controversial, as it humanizes people who are often viewed as a faceless group instead of as individuals. That said, the movie isn’t scary in any conventional sense, but it does a good job of creating a pervasive sense of unease in viewers. It’s easily the most well-written entry in the Into the Dark series and I recommend it.

Rating: 7/10