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SYFY WIRE Into the Dark

Exclusive Into the Dark clip: Meet Chester, who makes April Fool's Day a lot less funny

By Christian Long
Into the Dark I'm Just F*cking with You Hayes MacArthur

For the month of April, Hulu's holiday-themed horror anthology Into the Dark explores the nefarious side of April Fool's Day with its latest episode, "I'm Just F*cking with You." 

The episode follows a bitter internet troll, Larry (Keir O'Donnell), who checks himself into a neon-bathed motel off the beaten path in Los Angeles, only to have his stay take an unexpected turn. 

That unexpected turn is the result of Chester, played by Hayes MacArthur, a fun-loving prankster who works at the out-of-the-way motel. While he has a tendency to push things a little too far, his natural affability makes it nearly impossible to outright dislike the guy. 

In this exclusive clip, we're introduced to not only Chester, but his unique sense of humor as well. This includes his oft-repeated catchphrase, which happens to be the episode's title. 

Director Adam Mason told SYFY WIRE that he got the inspiration for the character from a dream he had, where his friend gave him a kitten that was actually a rattlesnake. "It was this adorable little thing with venom dripping off its teeth. And that was my inspiration for Chester."

The Black Antenna director explained that he had written the character as a more obvious psycho, but wanted to dial it back when it came to casting the character, which is why he started looking to comedic actors. "In my experience comedians are dark motherf**kers, it’s like that tears of a clown thing. What lies beneath the smile..."

As far as the character's introduction, Mason said, "It was important to escalate Chester from the kitten to the rattlesnake. His introduction was all about setting that in motion. So it was important in this first scene that the audience liked Chester, cause in many ways he was my hero in the movie. The film is essentially a morality tale about what happens to loathsome bullies."

The April episode of Into the Dark, "I'm Just F*cking with You," premieres today, April Fools' Day, on Hulu.