Thanks to Disney’s increasing stake in Hulu, subscribers to the Mouse House’s streaming service have seen the doors opened to more terrifying content than ever before, with Appendage the latest stomach-churning tale to break out from the pack and make a splash on the viewership rankings.
Per FlixPatrol, the unsettling expansion of the short film of the same name that debuted two years ago as part of the Bite Size Halloween series has been knocking at the door of the Top 10 in multiple countries since being made available on Disney Plus where Hulu isn’t part of the conversation.
Written and directed by Anna Zlokovic, Hadley Robinson stars as a young fashion designer who finds her deepest and darkest doubts and insecurities have been made flesh, manifesting into a gruesome sentient being that grows out of her body and ends up taking on a life of its own while trying to dismantle hers at the very same time.
A reflection on themes including mental health, depression, and anxiety shot through the lens of gnarly body horror that doesn’t skimp on squeamish practical effects, Appendage may not have been unanimously well-received by critics looking at its respective Rotten Tomatoes ratings of 56 and 55 percent, but as a horror movie arriving on a major platform in the buildup to Halloween, it was always a shoo-in to become one of the top-viewed titles available based entirely on its genre and nothing else.
Spooky season is in full swing, then, and we haven’t even reached the end of October’s first week.