Close Menu
  • Login
  • Support Us
  • Newsletter
  • News
  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Video Games
      • Previews
      • PC
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X/S
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Xbox One
      • PS4
      • Tabletop
    • Film
    • TV
    • Anime
    • Comics
      • BOOM! Studios
      • Dark Horse Comics
      • DC Comics
      • IDW Publishing
      • Image Comics
      • Indie Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • Oni-Lion Forge
      • Valiant Comics
      • Vault Comics
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Event Coverage
    • BWT Recommends
    • RSS Feeds
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Support Us
But Why Tho?
RSS Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube
Trending:
  • Features
    Battlefield 6 Classes - Support trailer image

    Battlefield 6 Really Wants You To Play Support (But Knows You Won’t)

    07/31/2025
    Battlefield 6 Multiplayer Reveal promotional image

    Battlefield 6 Classes, Maps, And More: Everything You Need To Know

    07/31/2025
    A glimpse at all the upcoming Star Wars stories coming to the galaxy

    Star Wars Stories: What We Learned At SDCC 2025

    07/25/2025
    Blindspot episode still

    It’s been 5 years since ‘Blindspot’ ended. Why haven’t you watched it yet?

    07/24/2025
    Strange Scaffold

    Strange Scaffold Summer Showcase Delivers Bizarre And Brilliant Games

    07/22/2025
  • Fantasia Festival
  • K-Dramas
  • Netflix
  • Switch 2 Games
But Why Tho?
Home » Film » REVIEW: October’s ‘Into the Dark: Uncanny Annie’ Is a Halloween Treat

REVIEW: October’s ‘Into the Dark: Uncanny Annie’ Is a Halloween Treat

Kate SánchezBy Kate Sánchez10/03/20193 Mins ReadUpdated:04/11/2023
Uncanny Annie But Why Tho
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Email

Uncanny Annie

Hulu and Blumhouse have been delivering thrills, shocks, and horrors in their anthology series Into the Dark which began in October 2018. The anthology series is comprised of an episode for each month of the year – and then some. But these aren’t just short episodes of television, they’re feature-length films that align to different themes of the month in which they air. In December we got a psychological thriller in POOKA and during July we got Culture Shock, which gave a thoughtful look into who gets to be American on the fourth of July. Now, it’s October, the best month for horror fans and we’re all invited to a game of Uncanny Annie. 

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

One of my favorite horror movie plots is gaming. Whether it’s something virtual like Stay Alive or a twisted dinner party like Would You Rather and of course a deadly game of hide-n-seek from Ready or Not, having characters play a game for their life is a sure-fire way to get me to hit play. Uncanny Annie scratches that gaming itch and more as it takes the audience on a trip that consistently left me saying “they won’t do that…will they?”

Directed by Paul Davis, Uncanny Annie takes place on Halloween night when a group of college students comes together to celebrate the holiday after the untimely death of their friend. But the party isn’t all awkward hormones and drinking in the typical college costumes, soon the group finds themselves trapped in a mysterious board game that brings their darkest secrets and fears to life. The rules of the game are simple, complete tasks to receive letters to the name ANNIE, once achieved they win. The catch? If they break the rules, so can Annie.

What starts as simple truth or dare quickly warps into a game with creatures, killers, possession, and of course deep dark festering secrets that ooze to the surface. The trouble starts fast and Annie continually one-ups herself in each execution. The practical effects are wonderful, with monster designs that chill you and kill that make you jump. While there is nothing revolutionary about Uncanny Annie it is most certainly a spooky and gory trip worth taking. The quality of the scares is top-notch, driven by the use of creatures and situations that had me questioning how I would play.

The characters themselves fit into tropes cleanly but their identities as these tropes work to move the story and set up the scares in a way that works well for Uncanny Annie’s story. While this may sound like a critique, it really isn’t. As a genre, horror thrives on its tropes and Uncanny Annie ultimately leans into the character tropes while subverting narrative expectations, breaking established “that can’t happen” rules throughout its runtime.

Sadly, Annie herself could have been executed better. By using an Insidious-esque setting for her world, solid black everything with no understanding if stepping out of the house will land you on solid ground, Annie stands out against the emptiness of the shots, and sadly, her face on the titular board game is scarier than her actual presence in the film. By utilizing quick body twitches, the pale-skinned and grayed-out Annie is meant to be scary, but instead conjures up only a small fraction of the scares compared to the other designs of the film.

That said, Uncanny Annie is the perfect haunt for your holiday. It’s fun, it’s creative, and it’s definitely a film that I will be adding to my list of Halloween horror recommendations for its crafty kills, practical effects, and use of board game rules – and of course, the dismissal of them.

Uncanny Annie is available for streaming exclusively on Hulu.

Into the Dark: Uncanny Annie
  • 7/10
    Rating - 7/10
7/10

TL;DR

Uncanny Annie is the perfect haunt for your holiday. It’s fun, it’s creative, and it’s definitely a film that I will be adding to my list of Halloween horror recommendations for its crafty kills, practical effects, and use of board game rules – and of course, the dismissal of them.

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
Previous ArticleREVIEW: ‘The Furies’ Is Slasher Brutality Reimagined
Next Article Carolyn Talks…With Directors Nance Ackerman and Ariella Pahlke
Kate Sánchez
  • Website
  • X (Twitter)
  • Instagram

Kate Sánchez is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of But Why Tho? A Geek Community. There, she coordinates film, television, anime, and manga coverage. Kate is also a freelance journalist writing features on video games, anime, and film. Her focus as a critic is championing animation and international films and television series for inclusion in awards cycles. Find her on Bluesky @ohmymithrandir.bsky.social

Related Posts

Simon in An Honest Life But Why Tho
3.5

REVIEW: ‘An Honest Life’ Is Terribly Dishonest About Its Own Politics

08/02/2025
Brandon Routh and co in Ick
9.0

REVIEW: ‘Ick’ Is A Near Perfect Horror-Comedy

07/29/2025
Bad Bunny and Adam Sandler in Happy Gilmore 2
5.0

REVIEW: ‘Happy Gilmore 2’ Earns More Shrugs Than Laughs

07/29/2025
Hi-Five
6.5

FANTASIA 2025: ‘Hi-Five’ Introduces A Scrappy, Superpowered Team Up

07/28/2025
Still from Haunted Mountains The Yellow Taboo
5.5

FANTASIA 2025: ‘Haunted Mountains: The Yellow Taboo’ Gets A Little Lost In The Weeds

07/26/2025
Dakota Gorman in HELLCAT
6.5

FANTASIA 2025: ‘HELLCAT’ Runs High In Tension But Loses Steam

07/25/2025

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here
TRENDING POSTS
Wildgate promotional key art
9.0
PC

REVIEW: ‘Wildgate’ Is Co-Op Space Mayhem Done Right

By Adrian Ruiz07/25/2025Updated:07/30/2025

Built for friends and tuned for competition, Wildgate is messy in the best way: smart, surprising, and bursting with room to grow.

Glass Heart
7.0
TV

REVIEW: ‘Glass Heart’ Offers Messy, Musical Catharsis

By Allyson Johnson07/22/2025

The musical drama series ‘Glass Heart’ soars when it focuses on the epic performances of it’s fictional band, TENBLANK.

Simon in An Honest Life But Why Tho
3.5
Film

REVIEW: ‘An Honest Life’ Is Terribly Dishonest About Its Own Politics

By Jason Flatt08/02/2025

An Honest Life is an overly severe misfire about a law student who falls in with anarchist burglars that can’t decide who it resents more.

Black Women Anime — But Why Tho (9) BWT Recommends

10 Black Women in Anime That Made Me Feel Seen

By LaNeysha Campbell11/11/2023Updated:12/03/2024

Black women are some of anime’s most iconic characters, and that has a big impact on Black anime fans. Here are some of our favorites.

But Why Tho?
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest RSS YouTube Twitch
  • CONTACT US
  • ABOUT US
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Review Score Guide
Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small contribution.
Written Content is Copyright © 2025 But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

But Why Tho Logo

Support Us!

We're able to keep making content thanks to readers like YOU!
Support independent media today with
Click Here