Blumhouse’s "Into the Dark" series on Hulu was a bit of a wild experiment. One month you’d get a campy slasher, and the next, a psychological mind-bender that leaves you feeling kinda greasy. All That We Destroy definitely falls into the latter category. It’s the Mother’s Day installment, but don't expect breakfast in bed. Honestly, it’s one of the more unsettling entries in the anthology, mostly because the All That We Destroy cast manages to make a completely insane premise feel uncomfortably grounded.
If you haven’t seen it, the plot is basically every parent’s worst nightmare turned into a sci-fi looping hellscape. A geneticist creates clones of a woman her son murdered so he can keep "perfecting" his violent impulses. Yeah. It's a lot.
Samantha Sloyan and the Weight of Dr. Victoria Harris
Samantha Sloyan carries this movie. You probably recognize her from Mike Flanagan’s universe—she was the hauntingly pious Beverly Keane in Midnight Mass and had roles in The Haunting of Hill House. In this film, she plays Dr. Victoria Harris. She’s a mother who has crossed every ethical line imaginable.
What makes Sloyan’s performance work isn't just the "mad scientist" trope. It’s the exhaustion. You can see it in her eyes. She isn't doing this because she enjoys it; she’s doing it because she’s trapped by her own maternal instinct. It’s a desperate, frantic kind of love that results in her literally 3D-printing human beings in her basement. Sloyan has this incredible ability to make you sympathize with a character who is objectively doing something monstrous.
The Unsettling Energy of Jayson Blair
Then there’s the son, Spencer. Jayson Blair plays him with this terrifying, vacant stare. You might know Blair from Life Sentences or The Hard Times of RJ Berger, which were way lighter than this. Here, he has to balance being a vulnerable son and a budding serial killer. It’s a tough tightrope.
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If Blair played it too "evil," the movie would lose its emotional core. Instead, he plays Spencer as someone who is fundamentally broken. He relies on his mother to clean up his messes—literally and figuratively. The chemistry between Sloyan and Blair is what makes the All That We Destroy cast stand out from other "Into the Dark" episodes. It feels like a codependent, rotting relationship that you can't look away from.
Vinessa Shaw: The Woman Who Keeps Dying
Vinessa Shaw plays Ashley, the victim. Or rather, the many versions of the victim. Shaw is a veteran—think Hocus Pocus, Eyes Wide Shut, and 3:10 to Yuma. In this film, she has a bizarrely difficult task. She has to play a character who is constantly "restarting."
Each time she is cloned, she has to convey a sense of confusion that slowly turns into dawning horror. It’s repetitive by design, but Shaw makes each iteration feel slightly different. You really feel for her. She is essentially a prop in a mother-son bonding ritual from hell.
The Supporting Players and the Atmosphere
The cast is small. It has to be. The isolation of their high-tech home is a character itself.
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- Sonequa Martin-Green pops up as Mara. You know her from Star Trek: Discovery and The Walking Dead. Her presence adds a much-needed layer of outside-world reality. When she enters the frame, the "bubble" that Victoria and Spencer live in starts to crack.
- Guy Burnet plays Henry. He brings a different kind of tension to the story, acting as a catalyst that forces Victoria to realize she can't keep this cycle going forever.
Why This Cast Works Better Than Other Anthology Episodes
A lot of the "Into the Dark" episodes struggled with acting that felt a bit "TV-movie." You know the vibe—slightly overacted or under-rehearsed. But the All That We Destroy cast feels like they’re in a prestige indie film. Director Chelsea Stardust clearly pushed for a more subdued, clinical tone.
The horror isn't in jumpscares. It’s in the quiet conversations over dinner while a dead body is being processed in the garage.
The Ethical Mess Behind the Fiction
While the movie is sci-fi, the themes are pretty real. It’s about "snowplow parenting" taken to the absolute extreme. Victoria is clearing the path for her son so he never has to face the consequences of his actions.
Experts in psychology often talk about the "enabler" dynamic. In this case, Victoria isn't just enabling a bad habit; she’s enabling a predatory nature. The film asks: how much of a person is "nature" versus "nurture"? If you give a killer a clean slate every week, do they eventually change? The answer the movie gives isn't exactly optimistic.
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Production Facts You Might Not Know
- Filming Timeline: Like most "Into the Dark" episodes, this was shot on a tight schedule, usually around 15 to 20 days.
- The Director: Chelsea Stardust has a background working with Jason Blum and Sam Raimi. She knows how to make a small budget look like a million bucks.
- The Script: It was written by Sean Keller and Jim Agnew. They focused heavily on the "loop" aspect, which is why the cast had to be so precise with their repetitive movements.
Why You Should Re-watch It
If you haven't seen it since 2019, it's worth a second look. Now that we're seeing real-world debates about AI and cloning technology, the "science" in the movie doesn't feel quite as far-fetched as it did five years ago.
The performances hold up. Samantha Sloyan is a powerhouse. Watching her slowly lose her mind while trying to maintain a "perfect" home is a masterclass in tension.
Actionable Insights for Fans of the Genre
If you liked the vibe of the All That We Destroy cast and the story's dark, psychological edge, here’s how to dive deeper into this specific sub-genre:
- Follow Samantha Sloyan’s Work: If you haven't watched Midnight Mass on Netflix, do it. It’s her best work and shares that "slow-burn dread" feeling.
- Explore the Rest of "Into the Dark": While the series is hit-or-miss, episodes like A Nice House on the Lake (not an episode, but a similar comic) or the episode The Body offer similar high-concept horror.
- Look into "Snowplow Parenting" Narratives: Movies like We Need to Talk About Kevin or The Bad Seed pair perfectly with this film for a disturbing double feature about parental guilt and troubled children.
- Check out Chelsea Stardust's other film, "Satanic Panic": It’s a lot more fun and comedic than All That We Destroy, showing the director’s range within the horror genre.
The film serves as a bleak reminder that some things, once broken, probably shouldn't be fixed—and some people, once gone, shouldn't be brought back. It’s a standout piece of modern horror precisely because of the people on screen.