Hulu surprised its fans by revealing Pooka was returning to its April 2020 installation of its popular horror anthology series Into the Dark — here's a breakdown of Pooka's origin and fan popularity.
Hulu launched this series in late 2018. Once a month, the streaming platform releases a horror movie that is typically related to whichever holiday takes place in that month. Into the Dark: Pooka! was the first season's Christmas episode. It centers around a creepy children's toy known as Pooka. Into the Dark is largely an anthology series, with the exception of the character of Pooka. He is the only character to make multiple appearances in the show's two seasons. The character debuted in Into the Dark: Pooka!, had a mid-credits scene cameo in Into the Dark: My Valentine, and makes a full-fledged return in Into the Dark: Pooka Lives!.
Pooka has become so popular that he has managed to become a part of three different segments within the anthology, which is somewhat unprecedented for an episodic series that isn't meant to be connected. That being said, there's a reason why Pooka is so popular with horror fans, and his rise to icon status certainly played a part in his image and character being continually used by Into the Dark.
Into The Dark: Pooka's Origins Explained
Pooka is a toy, mascot and the focus of an early installment of Into the Dark. The movie tells the story of an out-of-work actor named Wilson. He goes in for an audition that turns out to be for a mascot promoting a new kid's toy for the holiday season. The toy is Pooka — a creepy little plush toy that will repeat whatever you say back to him. Pooka ends up being the smash hit of the holiday season, selling out everywhere. While Wilson working at a Pooka pop-up, he meets and falls hard for a single mom named Melanie. She's a little wary to bring Wilson into her and her son Ty's lives, as her son's father didn't treat them well.
Weird things start happening to Wilson over the course of the episode. It appears as if Pooka has become alive and started tormenting people in his life. In A Christmas Carol-like twist, it's revealed Wilson himself was responsible for all the horrible thing Pooka appeared to be doing. For one, it turns out Wilson himself was Ty's father. On one particularly bad night, Wilson was driving his family to a Christmas tree lot. He was so distracted by his misplaced rage toward them that he ended up getting in a nasty car wreck. The accident immediately killed his wife and son, but Wilson hangs on for a bit. The final moments of the episode reveal that the events of the story are just hallucinations Wilson experiences as he is slowly dying.
How Into The Dark's Pooka Became A Horror Icon
Into the Dark is a true anthology series, because each installation is completely independent of one another. Well, for one exception that is — Pooka. At the time of writing this article, Pooka is going on his third appearance in the series. The Hulu series is on solid footing and shows no sign of stopping yet. A great way to solidify a horror-centric universe is with one main villain. Pooka is the perfect candidate for that.
First of all, look at him. Those lifeless eyes and the blood-like red lines around his mouth are downright terrifying. It's gleefully twisted that a mascot like this represents a children's toy. The idea of what Pooka represents is equally scary. The toy is tied to a man's psychological and mental deterioration. Into the Dark: Pooka Lives doubles down on this idea, by providing the origin story of the woman who created the toy. It appears that this episode of Into the Dark intends to lay the groundwork for Pooka to continue to pop up in the series.