Hello and welcome to Horrorfest 2020! While Red Lanyard has been doing some great stuff featuring Horror Icons, I chose to watch the entire series of Black Mirror and do recaps of each episode. Now, admittedly, not every episode is a technical horror, trust me, it definitely has some with some major horror elements.
For those of you who don’t know, Black Mirror is a British Anthology Series where each episode focuses on a different form of technology and it’s effects on us as a society. I will say it does get pretty rough and mentally exhausting in a few episodes so I just want to remind you that there is no shame in saying “I’m not comfortable enough to watch this right now. I totally understand and these articles will be here for you anytime.
*This show is definitely a mature show and I do not suggest it for any younger audiences. Sexual Content, Violence, Language and Depictions of extremely depressing scenarios can a part of any episode.*
** I do intend on getting fairly spoilery in these articles so it’s best if you watch the episode and then read the article afterwards.**
So, any issues I had with the first episode were completely fixed by this one. It’s a much better starting point for newcomers and It’s a beautifully, tragic tale featuring one of the most powerful performances of the entire series.
Jessica Brown Findlay is stunning as Abi, she has this vulnerability to her character and you want to see great things happen to her and for her…unfortunately, this is butchered and ruined…which then leads up to what is probably one of the most brutally honest 20 minutes in Film/Television. But we can’t talk about that without talking about star…
Daniel Kaluuya brings everything to this role. Whether it’s the complete lack of emotion throughout the first act, the enamored reaction he has to Abi in the second act and the determination he has in the third act. It’s incredible and it’s clear to see why he was chosen for his roles in Get Out and Black Panther.
His speech about Consumerism, Working and Celebrity Worship is as profound as it is heartbreaking. The ending of it is where we get to the Truth of it though, what would we sacrifice to better ourselves? Would we challenge a corrupt system or become part of it if it meant we could live well?
That’s why this episode works so well and why it’s the perfect opening for Black Mirror as a series.
Be warned, ABBA’s “I have a dream” will be stuck in your head the next 4 days after watching this.
As for it’s Horror elements, there’s more of a psychological horror in this one. I.E. having to watch the love of your life become a porn star. That’s about as horrifying as it gets.
