SPOILER WARNING for “Don’t Hug Me, I’m Scared” (episodes 1-6) and “Sex House” by The Onion. You might want to watch both of these shows before reading further.
Because of the topic’s nature, this post discusses some rather dark stuff. You were warned.
Recently I have watched a video by Patricia Taxxon about DHMIS unintentionally representing Patricia’s own experience as early-diagnosed and mistreated autistic child.
Among other things, Patricia describes the the 6th episode reveal of the mastermind behind all these malevolent teachers pestering the protagonists as disappointing: in Patricia’s opinion, the show could have been scarier if the teachers in question weren’t merely controlled by a bunch of buttons, but instead actually represented figures who have power on child’s life – yet are absolutely unreliable. Just like in the “Sex House”, a fake reality show where contestants rely on show-runners, yet the latter don’t understand a thing about how to create a successful reality show and what makes people want sex in the first place. Things go downhill extremely quickly, and “reality show” essentially turns into thriller (including an accidental murder of a person tied in a room full of mold).
It really made me think of the Incompetence Horror as a genre. The closest trope to it is probably Lethally Stupid, when character’s not so thought through decisions put anyone else’s life in danger. There’s also Lethal Negligence, but it seems like “lethal negligence” is intentional, while “lethal stupidity” isn’t. Compare to Hanlon’s Razor:
Don’t assume malice when stupidity is an adequate explanation. At least, not the first time.
Sources#
- Patricia Taxxon, dir. The Autistic Horror of Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared (Season 1). 2022. 31:53. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZ7cStxqgFE.
- TV Tropes, ‘Hanlon’s Razor’, accessed 22 June 2025, https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HanlonsRazor.
- TV Tropes, ‘Lethal Negligence’, accessed 12 September 2025, https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LethalNegligence.
- TV Tropes, ‘Lethally Stupid’, accessed 12 September 2025, https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LethallyStupid.
- The Onion. Sex House. 2012. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtBnHuIC9ZWl_LhjoqALFYcbD1mbVQlaA.