Blumhouse’s All That We Destroy review: Psychosocial issues explored and more

Blumhouse’s Into The Dark series has incorporated horror and suspense themes into each installment thus far, though they’re also finding time to explore psychosocial issues— especially in All That We Destroy.

Before we delve into the important bits of Into The Dark: All That We Destroy, there are a few things we need to acknowledge about the Mother’s Day-themed episode beforehand. For one, this entry is the first to visibly introduce science-fiction elements to the universe.

While the previous installments of Blumhouse’s Into The Dark have tiptoed around demonic possession, witchcraft, and supernatural phenomena, none of them have established sci-fi themes in the stories being told. All That We Destroy, on the other hand, does so and then some. How you might ask: cloning.

Warning! Potential spoilers for the latest episodes of Into The Dark follow. Read on at your own discretion.

Today’s modern science is barely in the beginning stages of human cloning, so when Dr. Harris (Samantha Mathis) reveals that she’s perfected the cloning process, it becomes fairly clear that All That We Destroy takes place in a sci-fi universe.

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Secondly, the amazing Aurora Perrineau put on another outstanding performance in this recent chapter of Blumhouse’s Into The Dark. 

For those who don’t remember, Perrineau had a supporting role in the first installment entitled The Body. She returned for a featured role in ATWD but as an entirely different character. *Also, props to Chelsea Stardust for her part in directing this masterpiece.*

Now to get to the major point worth exploring—the allusion to psychosocial issues we mentioned at the beginning of the article.

In All That We Destroy, Spencer (Israel Broussard) is clearly suffering from a psychological disorder from the get-go. His condition becomes so severe that Spencer kills anyone he comes into contact with. The strange thing is that the confused young man doesn’t just kill indiscriminately. Spencer finds people to become closer to and uses a moment of vulnerability to satisfy his bloodlust by unleashing all his rage upon them. We witness a clear instance of this when Marissa (Dora Madison) shows up at Spencer’s home.

In case it wasn’t already apparent, Marissa is dead by the end of ATWD. But before she dies, Marissa is able to relate with Spencer in a very meaningful way. The exchange happens at a random moment in the episode but that doesn’t take anything away from how thought-provoking that particular scene really was.

What happens is Spencer opens up to Marissa about the inner demons he’s struggled with. Spencer expects his new friend to react with a shocked expression, but instead, she relates to him by telling a story of her own. Marissa goes on to explain that she grew up with an eating disorder which required her to go to therapy.

According to the recent law-grad, she felt alone with her issues for the longest time—up until the point that she went to college. There, Marissa discovered the people around her were suffering from similar problems—if not worse ones. That in itself allowed the then college student to feel less isolated, giving her fewer reasons to continue the compulsive thinking patterns that triggered her initial eating disorder. In essence, that revelation improved her overall mental health.

In Spencer’s case, he could’ve learned much from Marissa and even moved past his psychopathic tendencies had he followed her lead. Unfortunately, the deranged young man gave in to his bloodlust during the feature’s final act, proving that he was beyond saving.

What we should take away from Marissa and Spencer’s private exchange is that psychological disorders aren’t uncommon—and we shouldn’t ostracize people for them. Individuals identical to Spencer do exist but that doesn’t mean we should shy away from everyone suffering from a mental disease—or view the dilemmas they face as taboo topics. And the truth is, many of us deal with the same issues, diagnosed or not.

The human experience differs greatly from person to person but the problems we face as a society are widely-felt—namely mental health issues. No matter how zen or centered a person may claim to be—or where they came from—we all have issues that plague us. Be they small or large, any number of circumstances can affect our mental health, potentially leading to the development of psychological disorders.

Because of that, we feel it’s the right time for society to become more transparent about mental health. We’re not in any way saying people should be forced to reveal their medical histories to the world but our society needs to become more welcoming so there’s a safe environment for anyone who chooses to share their story. That way, others can gain the courage to do the same, eliminating the taboo associated with mental illnesses altogether.

What did you think of Into The Dark: All That We Destroy? Let us know in the comments section below.

Into The Dark: All That We Destroy is currently streaming on Hulu. For more on this Hulu Original, follow us on the Hulu Watcher Twitter Account @HuluWatcherFS or on the Hulu Watcher Facebook Page.