Seeing as how the internet is a utility for many people nowadays, it’s natural to feel a little worried about how it can affect us. Some people worry about finding things they probably shouldn’t look at. Some are concerned about having their identity stolen. Even the idea that a stranger from the other side of the planet can find just about any piece of information about you is a little scary in of itself. In a culture that heavily relies on the internet for communication and socialization, however, a new set of fears can be found in how people conduct themselves.

Hulu’s latest original film, Grimcutty, is a neat little thriller that joins the niche subgenre of internet horror: films that utilize the ever-expanding influence of the information superhighway to deliver spooky stories. While the titular meme-faced creature is a little goofy looking, it brings a very real message of how interactions on the internet aren’t necessarily representative of those in real life and that our perceptions of them can directly affect our view of reality. With that in mind, it’d be worth looking at what exactly Grimcutty brings to the table in comparison to similar films.

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

     Hulu

If you’ve been keeping up with the news, chances are you remember some bizarre trends that came and went. Remember the blue and black dress? What about Yanny and Laurel? Those were pretty innocent and inventive trends that highlighted how people view and interpret the world differently.

Chances are that you remember Momo, too.

The Momo challenge was a fabricated hoax event brought about almost solely by the paranoia and ignorance of those who feared it. Supposedly, children were encouraged by a malicious profile on social media to either commit suicide or partake in other violent acts, with the profile in question featuring an unnerving photo of a strange, bird-like woman. The fears were largely unfounded in that compelling evidence of Momo’s existence simply didn’t exist – even the horrifying picture that accompanied the messages was revealed to be nothing more than a simple statue. The “news” largely spread through interactions between individual users on social media.

If you’ve seen Grimcutty, this will all sound eerily familiar. The film takes direct inspiration from stories like this, with the dog-faced creature only ever materializing as a result of feeling an overwhelming sense of fear or paranoia. If you want another real example of this – with empirical data proving this phenomenon – just look at the recent “Nyquil chicken” trend. Interest in the trend of cooking chicken in cold medicine didn’t peak until the FDA issued an official warning about it, drawing a significant amount of attention to what was initially a joke.

Grimcutty Isn’t Like Other Urban Legends

Given that Grimcutty is a tall, lanky, pale-faced creature in black, you wouldn’t be wrong to compare him to other internet-based urban legends. One that immediately comes to mind is Slender Man, a mysterious pale creature that took the internet by storm in the 2010s along with other strange characters. But the context in which these two characters exist slightly differs.

Slender Man, Jeff the Killer, The Rake, and other characters like them were created as “creepypastas” - the equivalent of a spooky campfire story. Because of this, each exists in dozens of different interpretations, with stories changing and rearranging most non-essential characteristics and behaviors. Slender Man, for example, does slightly different things in every story, but the core concept of a “tall, pale guy in black” remains.

Grimcutty is handled similarly. However, instead of details changing due to differences in how storytellers present the character, Grimcutty’s behaviors are echoed by the concerns of paranoid parents. Couple that with the fact that he only appears as a result of that paranoia rather than existing permanently in the shadows, and we have a unique creature that specifically highlights the dangers of misinformation.

How Do Other Similar Films Compare to Grimcutty?

Of course, Grimcutty wasn’t the first film to highlight a unique danger that the internet can harbor. Other films have tackled similar concepts directly related to the internet.

Unfriended: Dark Web utilizes the boogeyman-like idea of red rooms and the dark web to instill fear into the audience. While the visible internet that most people are familiar with is only a small portion of what’s available, the efficiency with which the villains can manipulate reality undercuts the real threat that their antics can present. Location tracking and “swatting” – the act of sending a SWAT team to someone’s home under false pretenses – are, unfortunately, real things that can happen. But it’s not necessarily possible to cram those actions into a runtime barely above 90 minutes.

Pulse, conversely, uses the internet as a medium for a deliberately supernatural tale of ghosts, interwoven between themes of growing societal isolation amid technological innovation. It’s a much more cerebral and subtle film in comparison, focusing instead on topics that affect society as a whole instead of just a single cultural issue.

Even the recently released DeadStream highlights how relying on internet attention can coerce people into doing things they otherwise wouldn’t. Staying in a haunted house overnight for millions of people to see seems like a good idea if you need sponsorship money and views, but that kind of risky behavior extends past fantasies of ghosts and ghouls. People have done a lot more for a lot less in reality.

All in all, Grimcutty may not be a perfect movie, but it’s an interesting encapsulation of just how quickly misinformation can wreak havoc, even if it’s spread with good intentions.