The Dark Side Of Family (DHMIS)

what does family mean to you is it your ma your par something that Vin Diesel says a little too much or maybe it's all of these things family should be what you make of it and to Don't Hug Me I'm Scared family is a horrifying mess of monsters and trickery and just like the show as a whole this episode introduces itself as a friendly colorful lesson for children but quickly slips fully into that Darkness so I thought it'd be a bunch of fun to join these murder puppets and do a big old Deep dive into the creepy fun that is Don't Hug Me I'm Scared episode three his family now in my opinion episode 3 is the most traditional when it comes to its execution of horror every other episode is so bright and colorful but this episode Where's that horror which is usually so hidden on its sleeve after the first minute it never once feels like the characters are safe even for a second and I think if the whole show was like this then it would take away from the kids puppet show Phil but because it's just one episode it's nice to see the creators switch things up a little as always we open with the classic spinning House intro and three of us jig and we zoom in to reveal that just like the two episodes which have come before the guys are sitting around the kitchen table not really up to much we're starting to see a routine every episode opens in the house and ends in the house and again no rushing of them to come greet Us in an energetic way like most kids puppet shows hi hi Sesame Street oh hello again it's good to see you and there's no background music instead the background noise is from the television as the gang are watching their favorite show Croton and hovrus a parody of British stop motion staple Wallace and Gromit but instead of focusing on a man and his dog's obsession with crackers and cheese this show focuses on a man's mistreatment of his dog who he has on a pretty short leash in the real show Gromit is very much his own character and is much more competent than his owner Wallace it's one of the things that makes the show stand out this reversal of a traditional dog human relationship but in this version hovrus truly is his pet and a mistreated one at that really looking like he doesn't want to be there we get multiple short glimpses into this show throughout Don't Hug Me I'm Scared the first starts off fairly normal with Hovis glad his mother's left him some money but as they go on they paint a picture of an unhinged man mixing up the date to visit his brother and smashing a plate in anger and not giving hovrus any water in the unbearable heat despite having many bottles [Music] similar to Don't Hug Me I'm Scared what we expect from the show is flipped on its head next to the TV is a felt carton of milk and on the side of this carton a space which used to be reserved for missing persons is a photo of the trio a clue that they might not be where they belong Horus and gromo cuts to a commercial break and we see an advert for juicy succulent groton's chicken and their spanking deal of a family bucket of chicken but you must be a family if not you might go to baboy jail or something I don't know and it's our first clue to the theme of this episode the idea that in order to get the best out of things you need to be a family I mean look at all the benefits it has duck comes in and switches it off because TV is for losers and rushes over to the other two announcing how he's only gone and found a bag of chuddle dollops which look very tasty I'm getting hungry just looking at him but oh no he can't rip open the bag either he's been skipping on the gym or there's another issue as red and yellow chant and slam their fists down on the table a sentient Apple jumps up onto the windowsill and asks them why not try a healthy option and it appears as though we're about to jump into another lesson talk to us for a jolly but slightly Sinister song a young girl appears at the window taking a big old bite out of Mr Apple before chucking his corpse into the Trio's home we're then introduced to two of the most terrifying characters I've ever seen and if they weren't sickening enough uh children this lovely pair are the twins todney and Lily their appearance to me is the creepiest out of all the side characters we see throughout the show because this style of puppet falls into The Uncanny Valley which is where something looks close to human but is just not quite there leaving you feeling uncomfortable comfortable there are elements to them which are familiar and resemble actual humans but just as many which are cartoony and fake for example their skin looks like regular human skin and their hair looks like real hair but their arms are too rigid and straight and their mouths are a simple black piece of fabric and so it creates this weird blend of puppet an actual child and it's not just the uncanny valley effect that makes the twins creepy it's the Simplicity of their facial features with the mouths only having several positions you see people like to figure out what others are thinking so they subconsciously look at the pupils and facial expressions and if you can't really see any change in these facial features you can never really tell when they're happy angry or sad from their appearance so your instinct is to keep watching never letting your eyes off them trying to figure out if they're a friend or a fret this is the case for their eyebrows too they have none and eyebrows are possibly the clearest way to show a character's mood and their voices sound like an adult trying to sound like a child it gives you this feeling that that acting more naive and innocent than they really are it's hard to put into words so here's their voice looks like these guys need our help hooray Lily there's nothing we like so the first time we see the twins they appearing through the gang's window a clear invasion of privacy and the way they enter the house is a good sign that things aren't quite right with these two we get a close-up shot of yellow sitting at the table the window which the twins are peering in through can be seen behind him in the background but it's all slightly out of focus because they're new characters Outsiders and could be a threat your eyes are trained to focus on them you don't want them to come in so them being out of focus makes you feel more anxious as our sight is our strongest sense when it comes to danger and then as the camera starts panning left we see one of the twins disappear from the window as though you're trying to look away from them but they're following your eyes you can't escape them and in less than a second before the shot stops moving the twin can be heard running and is now right next to Yellow uncomfortably close we hear no door open and it's physically impossible that any human could travel this distance in this little amount of time it gives her an otherworldly feel right out of the gate now the twins coming from outside the house may seem small at first but is actually very significant usually the Trio's teacher is some kind of inanimate object which is actually alive a briefcase a coffin a train and here this apple was likely supposed to be the teacher giving the trio a lovely lesson all about eating healthy but instead the twins arrive and eat the apple killing it and taking its place as the force that guides the trio through this episode just like how they peered in through the window at first it seems like they're Outsiders they have their own separate motives we just don't know what they are yet and the twins have that energy which most kids have where they have no filter and are brutally honest it's not their fault Tony maybe they can't read they have no concept of boundaries let alone manners throwing a sound damage on the floor and sitting on the counter rude boy if you look at the concept art for the twins they were originally going to be conjoined but I think they made the right choice by making them how they are because now it makes them feel like they're ganging up on and surrounding the trio the twins explain to the trio that these snacks they're trying to eat won't open because it's a family pack silly and the family example on the packet strangely resembles the twins as though they hold the key to being able to open them as according to these little home Invaders our Trio are not a family so they have something which the trio need but duck disagrees with this notion we are a family aren't we now Doc seems fine with what they have sure we're not technically a family but we live together and we have the same lawyer and it worked for us he's weary quite aware of these creepy Twins and likely knows that they don't hold the answers to what a family really is You could argue that out of the trio he is the most aware and in intelligent he doesn't tend to put up with the bizarre stuff going on around them at least not as much as the other two this isn't what we're supposed to be doing but he and red get distracted and argue over which one is the daddy as it Dawns on them that they probably aren't a real family they struggle to find another word for what they are just like a group or a clump this is where you start to question as a viewer actually yeah what are these guys are they friends well they argue a lot but hey that's what friends do sometimes are they a family well they all look like different species a duck a yellow boy a red uh Sasquatch man I mean we don't really know what they are and neither do they they're just the trio I know you I know which one you are the trio of Puppets forced to live out this kid's show against their will but that's how we see them from an outside perspective how do the trio see each other we do see that yellow thinks of them all as best buds from this quick line in the big day song from the previous episode it's a celebration for our best mate now despite not having as much screen time in this episode we do get a good glimpse into Red's mindset one of the first lines red has is in response to duck saying what they have works for them he clearly disagrees red seems to hate his current situation in the house with the other two doing the same thing over and over feeling like he's stuck and his outlook on this lifestyle explains why he never wants to do anything he sees it all as a colorful prison and in a way he's right he's the most unique character out of not just the trio but the whole show he appears more human unlike everyone else it really feels like red doesn't belong here he even refers to the other two as things I knew it I'm not supposed to be living with these two things and so when he's promised the chance of a new family who are more like him is one of the few times throughout the show where we see him excited and hopeful and we can leave pathetic life behind and he's willing to ignore any red flags the twins show because he's so focused on reaching his new family his new life I have a family hmm this is our first clear look at the character Roy in the show this is a figure who pops up more in the web series but he does have some appearances in the show he's known as a sociopath and commonly stalks the trio treating his son yellow horribly and he is the Peeping Tom who's been staring in at the trio during every single intro this is however where we start to see the strange rules which their twins have for what makes a family dear that's not a fan that's just a dance that stating how you need a full set uncles Dads Moms creepy twins the lot their views on family are very traditional they're quite young and haven't had the chance to grow older and realize that families and relationships aren't black and white there's no rules really about what makes one and duck challenges the twins why are you two so obsessed with family anyway it's just a word which triggers Tommy to a new level we get a handheld camera close-up of Tommy's annoyed face and the camera is drawn even closer making it uncomfortably intimate his voice turning shrill I love my family and they outraged at the fact that duck could say such a Blasphemous thing he then leaps into the air the Puppeteer likely just pulling the strings up and moving them randomly it gives this feeling that Tommy is so angry he can't control his movements but our darling Lily calms him down as he breathes uncontrollably his world is rocked so much so that we see a shot of him doing a big old we in his pants it lasts less than a second but it just hammers home how passionate Tommy is about the f word it's a touchy subject for him speaking of the f word how better for the twins to get across the meaning of family than to sing them a jolly song all about it so this song follows a common formula that we're used to where each letter of the title stands for a different word related to that title think of The Fun Song from SpongeBob [Music] still making them right now all right okay okay love you so the twin song begins with F is for friendship so you assume that it's going to continue along the letters that make up the word family and it does at first with a standing for advice and we get this amazing imagery of Tommy wearing a nose ring a true Fashion Icon however as the song progresses the letters stop following the word family becoming more random as well as the meaning behind them talking about landlines and units and we end up with the word foulter yeah it's a nice diversion and reminder that these twins might be a tad unhinged as if you needed a reminder the chorus is [Music] with the trio surrounded cut off on both sides by one of the twins as though they're closing in on them a nice touch is that the twins say you can't be a family if you don't have a landline and the trio do have a landline so they technically could be a family under the twins weird rules but as Tommy says this we see him cutting the wire he wants to keep them from being a family or at least from thinking they are one they want to separate and divide the trio and it's worse because red gets up knew it I'm not supposed to be living with these two things and this rubs off on yellow who is very impressionable he now also wants to be with people like himself but study on because the twins tell them there's still a lot to learn about families before they're all ready to go and find one so the twins have a family meeting family meeting saying it in unison as though they have twin tuition and know exactly what the other is going to say they whisper to each other keeping the others out of the conversation saying they'll announce their big plan on the count of 15 muttering the numbers to themselves as they move in opposite directions circling the trio like sharks now Tommy's Puppeteer moves him on some kind of stick so he moves with such fluidity that it looks unnatural there's no step movement or slight bumping up and down which you get with regular walking like how lily walks it's like he's floating and as Lily passes duck she just smacks him on the head for no reason showing her more Sinister side their big idea is for the trio to come over and see how their family works so they know what to do when they themselves get one and the boys are fully up for this cheering along with them and we see the first of these little title cards that pop up throughout the episode separating the scenes with phrases phrases which sound similar to the twins rules this is the only episode with midpoint title cards it's a way of showing that toddny and Lily are in control now they've taken over the show and so we then cut to the twins crib which is probably the most traditional horror setting throughout the entire show it's a fairly Standard English home but it looks like everything's been stained this yellowy brown color the same effect that smoking indoors has as if you could rub dirt on the wall and it would blend right in there's a bunch of cobwebs and overflowing ashtrays dotted around it's clear that their home is not being properly taken care of and hasn't been cleaned in a long time Lily pours them all some liquid which she calls tea but if you've ever guzzled tea by the gallon you'll know that this gloopy brown liquid is not tea it looks more like the lasagna from the free vending machine in episode 1. we see an old woman attached to a blood bag and a drip as well as a family portrait but what's this the mother's face has been wiped off our first clue as to what's going on here eerie music begins playing as we're introduced to two more members of the happy family brother and father one of which is very tall with gray skin and only a few strands of hair left played by a human making him appear more powerful compared to the smaller puppet holding his hand looking more like a Schoolboy with blushing cheeks and a button nose playing his little game off in his own world they then switch on the Telly which looks damaged why it's hanging out and being held together by tape yet another sign that this family is struggling it's a lovely home movie of their first family picnic but when duck begins speaking the twins angrily tell him to shh they hate any talking over the family film but only when the others do it as Tommy begins telling a tale it was stung by a bee on my eyelid but mother kissed it better the same mother we haven't seen yet the same mother who was wiped from the family photo the episode is starting to build up this mystery more and more throughout these questions and hints what do the twins want where is the mother the twins have been constantly mentioning her and for how much their personalities are defined by their love for family you'd think that she'd be right here by their side especially from how they make her out to be this caring kind woman but instead we get a glimpse at every other family member and none of them seem to be these things in fact they seem hostile towards not just the trio but the twins too it's clearly an abusive household just look at the look on the twins faces and all the family want to do is sit in silence watching their film reflecting on the past duck suggests that the trio talk privately but Tommy shuts this down with yet another one of his strange rules saying how you must be a family to have a family meeting and as we've established the trio and not a family because of that damn landline it's a way for the twins to keep them here stopping them from communicating and making a plan to get away well let's just have a bundle meeting wait where we could do a friend's meeting well that's a stretch as they discuss what kind of meeting they will have the grandmother we saw attached to the bloodbag screams shaking Two Bells all over the place cutting the trio off the twins begin chanting that it's family game time what's this now the trio even join in standing up and waving their arms in excitement all except duck he's clearly fed up with the twins distractions and is only along for the ride because it's better than hanging out back at the house by himself and what better for family game time than a good old-fashioned board game I'm bored games but this isn't your usual board game with bright colors and pieces instead it's dark brown and made of wood it could never fold up and looks pretty heavy when darling Lily has her go she crosses the family Bridge with ease and is now allowed to mingle with the cousins see everything with the twins comes back to family it's as though it's all they can think about there are obsessed with it and when yellow congratulates her on her good play oh well done she runs over to him panting leaning him real close she reaches her hand around his back and onto his shoulder except instead of the solid plastic hands we've seen up until this point it's a human hand as though what we've seen of her so far hasn't been her true form like she's appearing as what some may see as innocent but really she's more complex and powerful than she's letting on now for this barrel of fun instead of game pieces they use human teeth it's as though they are using any resources they can find around them to have fun another sign that they're being neglected however not all of them use teeth as in a kind gesture the twins allow yellow to use mother's piece and it looks like a small statue of a woman that would be used during worship the twins tell yellow that mother will be home in time for dinner you'll stay for dinner won't you yet another mention of this mysterious mother the figure duck is getting fed up now and wants to go home but the twins argue that they're still playing what a sore loser he is and when duck grabs mother's piece from yellow to try and speed up the game the grandmother begins shrieking again and we get a similar shot as before back when Tommy lost his mind a close-up handheld camera but this time it follows the grandmother's movement shaking violently from side to side and the twins gasp in horror you see duck broke yet another one of the twins bizarre family Rules only mother can touch mother's piece but they were fine with yellow touching it yet another clue they're revealing their plan right in front of us we just don't understand it yet but it's clear that there's some kind of connection between yellow and the missing Mother after Duck's unforgivable act the twins tell him he needs to leave which he's fine with fine come on guys let's go he wants to go home anyway but the others don't they're having too much fun and still haven't found their family the twins tell him only he will be going as they Point their horrifying little plastic fingers at Duck he sucked under the table that doesn't sound right he's back into the good old kitchen we're so used to see these twins are more cunning than we thought one by one they're getting rid of the trio separating them starting with a member with the most influence the Twins then show yellow and red all around the house ending up in a room with a big old family tree that holds photos of all the previous family members their ancestors and many of the photos have x's on them as though they've been taken out this room is even darker than the living room and in a much worse state with stains on the wall and rodents running about as the episode progresses and the twins reveal more and more of their personality the appearance of the house becomes more decrepit and the lighting gets more and more Bleak it turns out that the tree is sentient and it tells red not to worry because he can help him find his family all he needs is a little sample of his DNA that doesn't sound right I just need a sample of your DNA his design is very similar to the coffin from episode 2 with eyes that roll around the place but before red can even agree the family tree stabs a massive needle into Red's arm so big that it looks as though it's going to come out the other side it begins to drain his blood his eyes make him look like he's crunk he's losing Consciousness the tree looks red up and down like he's sizing up a meal after all he is consuming him one drop of blood at a time the tree's voice becomes deeper and more demonic make sure the results now it's got its hooks into red and he's at his Mercy he doesn't need to pretend anymore his friendly Persona fading away we then fade into Red's mind and get one of the trippiest most psychedelic animations I've ever seen with everything wriggling and writhing organs transforming into versions of red as his string strands move and pulsate and now phase two of the twins plan is complete because red has been taken away too lured away into his own mind aided by the blood loss caused by the needle where he's now living out his fantasy surrounded by people just like him altogether posing for a family photo and again red seems so excited to be away from the other two I'm happy to finally be with my family you're ruining it he felt trapped in the trio but now he's free but unfortunately red is ripped away from this dream now that he's away from yellow and can't influence him there's no need for the twins to give him what he wants anymore and he's dragged down out of frame and back into the kitchen with duck and I can't help but feel sorry for him and now red has been taken away too leaving just yellow the most naive and impressionable member of the trio he's now at the twins Mercy as they measure themselves on the wall to see how much they've grown yellow asks um where are the others I came with what others classic gaslighting yellow gets confused very easily and they are taking advantage of this distracting him by saying he should be measured too getting him more involved in the family activities and before he can respond the big fella grabs him pushing him against the wall measuring him against his will and yellow questions this saying he's not a family member but it's okay because they tell her him we consider you to be such a close friend you're almost part of the family twice really hammering at home how fond of him they really are this is clever wording by the writers because it's an expression but they're also being literal and that's why when toddney repeats this he only repeats the second half as that's the only part that's actually true so it's clear by now that the twins goal is to bring yellow into the family so we're starting to see the what but we're still so unsure on the why but before he can even question all of this Nana Rings The Bells yet again it's bedtime this is the second time that this Grandma Shri King has stopped the line of questioning it kills any momentum the conversation had and allows the twins to shift the focus back towards what they want to discuss we cut to a top-down view of the twins in one bed and yellow in another and this means you can see all four walls around them it's a great visual way of boxing them all in together yellow is trapped with the twins now this room is full of patterns and it's almost visually overwhelming yellow persists that he was here with some others but they insist he just needs more rest and at this point yellow is almost completely initiated into this family he's played with them got himself measured and is now sleeping in the same room and it seems like he himself has forgotten his initial reasoning for coming here their constant reassurance and confusion has clouded yellow's mind and Tommy sings an absolute tune oh thank you to the song toddney that knocks yellow out another sort of other worldly power that he seems to possess apart from his super speed it's Barry Allen I am the fastest man alive and when he comes to we get a blurry point of view it's hard to make anything out so we're left waiting in anticipation of what situation the twins have gotten yellow in now as before every time we jumped from scene to scene the activity was yelled out in Joy by the twins beforehand [Music] but now just like yellow we're in the dark and as he starts to open his eyes he's tied up with the whole family sat around the dinner table looking at him even mother's here now because now yellow is Mother and we finally understand the context of the twins plan they've been grooming him towards this mother role from the very start where the portrait once had mother's face rubbed off now yellow's head has taken her place the twins can be heard saying stressed again if that's okay she's probably just hungry so hungry the twins have lost their mother and everything's Fallen apart since then they don't know how to function and haven't been eating properly and because it seems like they are from a more traditional family no one else has any experience taking care of the children so to try and get back to how they were they need a new mother and as yellow is the most naive he's their target but first they need to isolate him and so one by one they got rid of the others this also explains why yellow was allowed to touch mother's piece and what they meant by saying he's almost part of the family he's almost part of the family it's not revealed what happened to their mother but it's hinted that she might have abandoned them from the line mothers stressed again either that or she passed away but either way she's gone so now that yellow is dressed up as their new Mama it's time to use this newly acquired family status for this juicy gronton's chicken Family Meal which we saw advertised in the beginning on TV they likely used to eat the gronton's deal as a family together and this is probably why they sit around playing a family video this picnic was likely the last time that they were happy and cared for eating a packed lunch and Tommy getting kissed better but mother kissed it better they then chant at yellow to make the call cool over and over getting louder and louder slamming their hands on the table unable to control their excitement and hunger their ravenous for this big old bucket of chicken and because yellow never really changes facial expressions they have to show his Terror through the puppeteering and voice shaking him slightly and having Terry Baker the voice actor talk a lot louder and quicker than he usually does for yellow and this pulls off that fear amazingly because we're so used to Yellow talking all slow and calm wow what a Twist during this challenge the little boy speaks but his voice is deeper than the ocean and Lily addresses him as father so earlier on when she introduced big and small in our minds we just assume that this is the father and this is the brother but no this is the father and this is the brother and it made me laugh but there's also another reason for this I think it also explains why the house and the family have fallen into such a poor State because the mother was the only competent member of this family with the father being more childlike off in his own world this fella can't take care of her family and after the chanting yellow scared for his life caves and makes the call begging groton's to feed us and while he does a figure is seen walking past the window the ceiling then bursts open a blue light glowing from above seeping in and a massive humongous bucket of chicken is lowered in we cut back to various family members looking upwards as though they are praising the chicken but now their appearance has changed now that the food is on the table they don't need to hide anymore and they can show their true forms the brother I mean father resembling a chick pecking at the food and pulling it apart with his beak the grandmother's face opening as though it's been split in half revealing shark like Jagged teeth in Rose and the twins look similar they're once small simple mouth design changing to a horrifying mix of shades of red and small teeth in a random assortment the bucket plops down on the table and they begin feasting it's a frenzy trying to get as much food in their mouths as quickly as possible as though they haven't eaten in years but rudely they interrupted mid-mill by none other than yellow's father Roy yellow's family has shown up in his time of need not out of kindness or caring for his son but out of selfishness and hunger despite the family's appearance yellow's father is worse walking in and devouring both the chicken and the family members as yellow walks out and escapes as we hear the family screaming we fade out and we see that the trio are back together sat around the table talking about their experience and what they've learned about family I don't know what that was probably not a family and they all come to the realization that they are a family who says we're not a family anyway maybe a family is just a group that care for each other and stick together at least a better one than what they've seen today they hang out because they live in the same place and if that's not a family I don't know what is it's one of the more wholesome endings throughout the show and helps to cement the fact that despite getting on each other's nerves they do care about each other somewhat each episode so far has taken an element which is often explained to children in a fairy tale kind of way with oversimplified generalizations in black and white and instead given us a darker more honest interpretation of these topics first we had jobs which started out with the idea that you can be anything before the trio were trapped in an assembly line of recycled phrases and unfair treatment and then we had death where it seemed like Duck would be going to a better place but instead ended up rotting underground and now we have family where we started off being shown that the twins were the example of a real family but in the end they suffer the most from their family something which is supposed to look out for you has consumed them this episode is probably one of my favorites it does an incredible job of building tension and the character design is top tier everything the twins are doing could be seen as friendly and normal childlike behavior on the surface level but it's the execution that makes it unsettling the lighting the character design the pronunciation of these sayings which hold double meanings he's almost part of the family they all combine to create the feeling that these kids don't have honest intentions we know the show by now we know there's a Hidden Side to everything that appears friendly in this universe and the more I watch this episode the more I love it so yeah it's great to see some more traditional horror but I'm glad that we're moving towards episodes 5 and 6 because those two oh boy they're the reason that I even decided to make videos on this show because they really get into the existential side of things and you start to get some more concrete answers which somehow are also ambiguous at the same time so there's a lot to talk about with these last two episodes so yeah subscribe and hit the Bell if you don't want to miss them and again thank you so much for all the likes comments feedback it's honestly amazing and I can't believe it but it looks like we're gonna hit 4 000 subscribers baby honestly crazy thank you for watching I love you goodbye

Channel: Water Wave

Views: 740,798

Keywords: water, wave, DHMIS, dhmis, dont hug me im scared, don't hug me i'm scared, don't, hug, me, i'm, scared, working, workplace, all 4, jobs, episode, breakdown, analysis, video essay, horror, puppets, waterwave, water wave, commentary, yellow guy, red guy, duck, family, broken family

Id: H6UWtMj8gdI

Length: 35min 56sec (2156 seconds)

Published: Sat Nov 26 2022