Wow... I can't believe that this was an actual "Black Mirror" episode, it was so ploddingly boring. It was the first episode of the entire series that I had to watch in two sittings because of the tedium it caused. Looking forward to the next episodes being back on track.
To be honest the first two episodes are horse crap
Reading the first comments and now I see why Charlie Booker gets frustrated with the "tech is bad" label imposed on the series.
I guess everyone complaining about the lack of sci-fi and 'Black Mirror' element missed the fact that this literally happens with people's stories being exploited for streaming documentaries every day, and it's only getting worse as technology continues to ensure everything is recorded for 'posterity'. Powerful episode.
I really thought there was going to be one last reveal at the end to show that Davis was secretly a part of his parent's disturbing acts
Wth was that dren? Ugh. So predictable. The ending was written all over the guy's face from the beginning. The scene where the gf dies?? Seriously? That was it?. Sigh...really didn't like this one. Felt like a student film final project. The story and characters needed something more.
David Fincher found retired in his home.
Legitimately A-tier Black Mirror - it's been a while. Maybe even top 5 episodes for me. It has the feeling of the first two seasons, British pseudo-cynicism and the darkest modern TV has to offer, while also being something the show has never attempted before.
It felt like Charlie Brooker wrote this one from a dark place, especially with that digustingly evil ending.
FOR YOUR FILM,
MOM
That was absolutely brilliant, top 10 Black Mirror episodes possibly (which is saying a lot). Incredible acting from everyone involved and kept me invested throughout its entirety.
shallow true crime takedown that struggles to say anything new and the twists are painfully obvious
Refreshing twist on the Black Mirror formula, deviating from the standard sci-fi aspect and offering a different perspective on the commercialization of true-crime documentaries.
Particularly interesting given Netflix's (sudo recent) success' of DAHMER and Ted Bundy documentaries - I'm liking the reoccuring meta theme of 'Streamberry' so far this season.
one of the best episodes of the netflix era - subtle, no big stars, coherent story and with that killer twist. havent seen Samuel Blenkin in anything before but his acting was just perfect
The city lost tourists due to violence and gained tourists because of violence.
Some people might say it doesn't feel like Black Mirror because of the lack of the sci-fi. But to me it still is one of the best episodes of the Netflix era just based on the fact that this is a very british episode which is a quality I have been missing very much from the most recent seasons no matter how good or bad they are. Very reminiscent of the first two seasons. And it still has that social commentary which is even more important to the Black Mirror feel instead of it being sci-fi IMO.
It felt like Black Mirror, but also not at all. Genuinely unsettling. I liked it.
Black Mirror used to be about technology and its impact on society.
This was just a horror story with a nice twist at the end. More Twilight Zone than Black Mirror.
I need a few days to recoup as this episode is pretty disturbing. Its the same feeling I felt after watching White Bear. And i've seen a lot of true crime shows :upside_down:
Good story overall, but didn't quite fit the "Black mirror" mood. I think the hook was supposed to be "people's obsession with true crime docu", but that's not quite enough to put it in the Black Mirror universe.
Man did I dig this. Very unsettling atmosphere with a brilliant twist -- classic Black Mirror. It was missing the sci-fi element I have come to expect, but this feels like them delving more into horror and I really enjoyed it. Once you start to suspect something is off the tension comes in at the perfect time and it gets VERY tense and unsettling as you're putting the pieces together -- I felt an immediate sense of fear and danger at the perfect time. The ending is so dark and twisted and left me feeling uneasy in the best way. I found the very end when we get to see what becomes of all of this to be equally as disturbing as it comments on our culture's obsession with true crime including the exploitation of devastating horrors among the lives and stories of others all just for our own entertainment. It did this but added extra layers of complexity making for a really haunting finale. The acting was also on point across the board and the direction was great.
8.7/10 -- Great
Good episode but not deserving of the "Black Mirror" label.
The story was fine but it didn't seem like a Black Mirror episode at all. No new tech/sci-fi element. More of a typical thriller.
So I was a little confused at first cause I was like yeah it’s a good story but where’s the tech? The dystopian vibes? But I think that the fact that we didn’t find it dystopian enough is the dystopian part! Our obsession with true crime, the fact that we are an incident away of becoming the subjects of a documentary or of a cult like obsession in social media (Gaby Pettito, Ohio murders), the guy switching from creator to subject is what should be terrifying. This is a cautionary tale.
wow so suprising... That such a predicable, in every detail episode, was labeled Black Mirror.
Good execution on an overdone theme. Not very Black Mirror either. Also, the twist was obvious, because it gotta have a twist, and ofc the killer was another one or had help. Personally I thought it was Stuart.
That is an ok story. A bit predictable since as soon as you see the VHS, you know there will be something on it. But the kind of fun little story that would more fit in Tales from the Crypt or something, than Black Mirror.
The only thing vaguely Black Mirrory about it is that they push for the Streamberry thing (unrelated to the story), and that they reuse the recursive story (the guy wanting to make a documentary ends up part of it) theme from the first episode (might be a season theme, like the are AI sentient of the previous one). That's very very thin.
They even make a goof about it I think since in the pub they discuss a show on Netflix and not Streamberry.
Enjoyed it anyway.
Biggest mystery: VHS in Great Britain looked better then normal TV from 2000.
This episode had me up thinking about it. it paints a gnarly picture of how we consume true crime for entertainment purposes and totally disconnect from the fact that it's real life for some. Actually a really nasty story.
5.5/10 - F*** me, that was a dark ending... :o
The scenery was kinda nice (especially the cool roads to drive along :D) but also so liveless and cold. I don't think that I could spend much time there. Maybe some hikes and road trips between visiting larger cities but without more sun it felt a bit depressing the whole time (the pretty much untouched nature is beautiful though).
I mainly lacked the connection to modern technology though - this was more of a "retro" episode.
(Even the name "Twitter" is already outdated :D Interestingly there was a Netflix reference and not just Streamberry.)
"Aye, I'll put the crowbar on whisper mode." - At least that was briefly funny :D
"I uh... don't think we need the lemon juice." - until it got very dark again...
"I don't have any proof. I think I've always known."
What a twist!!!
I was freaking out at the end and could barely watch! I had to emotionally disconnect myself from Pia (treating her as a fictional, stupid person) as I just couldn't handle it anymore (being scared every second).
I saw the following options:
Anyway, when it was finally game over for her I was relieved that I could brief again and it didn't really hit me as it was just too stupid to be believable. Yes, that could happen but it's super unlikely that one would trip over completely AND not use ones hands too counteract the fall and avoid such major injuries.
(And walking through water is stupid anyway from a tactical perspective (too dangerous, could make too much noise, difficult to hear other's noises due to the water, makes one too visible, etc.).)
I felt really bad for Davis though! He lost everything... :o
And it's so sick that these tourists even wear similar masks!!!
At least I got to hear Richard Ayoade's very nice/funny voice at the end (gotta focus on the positive things) :) I love that voice and accent <3
Another abysmal episode. Black mirror was so great because every episode took place in an alternate reality other than our own. This new season seems to show iPhones, safari browsers, and windows laptops. Also this episode features "film technicians" who bring in video from tape and it looks like it was shot that morning. Garbage in garbage out.
Pia’s fate was just so ridiculous that I couldn’t enjoy any more of it. I get it, she had to die so that he could be “extra miserable” in the end, but there were so many other options…
I want(/need) a friend like Stuart
To me it was total garbage. The story is really predictable and has nothing to do with black mirror
An alternate universe where Podrick's father is Little Finger, it's not a half bad story either.
Except for maybe the commentary on the true crime genre, it's not really very Black Mirror, and as it's own thing, it's nothing special.
Yes, it was Black Mirror, and it felt like Black Mirror throughout, especially in its Netflix phase, which is to say, utterly predictable but gorgeous to look at. I was really hoping that wasn't going to be the reveal. It was so obvious, so clunkily signposted, so lazy.
But it was nice to get an episode not set in California or New York. And it really did look amazing, and the blacklight scene was eerily beautiful. And it was well-acted.
I'm just glad it was lamb in that shepherd's pie. That would've been another really awful twist. Not quite as bad as the one they used, but still...
Apart from two links to two other episodes that signify it happening in the same universe, the story feels more standard thriller/horror anthology show rather than a distinct Black Mirror one. But it's still pretty engaging and well performed on a scene-by-scene basis, and the last shot linking a real-life award to the ep's true crime premise is darkly funny.
Subtil but addictive dive into frozen horror
This episode is a little different. Not what you are used to from "Black Mirror". But still well worth watching.
Great episode, but it didn't feel like Black Mirror. It's missing the sci-fi element, the dystopian topic, the futuristic technology aspect.
I thought it was just the mom...
Or I hoped they had never found him and that he was in the house when they came in....
I liked it...
Banal, virtue-signalling and hypocritical.
Charlie Brooker: True Crime and the commodification of suffering is bad. Also, racism.
Netflix: Oh no!....... Anyway.
Go watch Kid Detective (2020), if you want to see a similar story properly done.
There is an irony about people complaining about the episode being predictable when so many comments are saying the same thing.
I guess for some people the Bergerac VHS tapes were obviously concealing some secret but I was perhaps not as critical as I usually am and I just let the story unfold without trying to dismantle the film making techniques. On top of that my grandfather was from Guernsey and enjoyed watching Bergerac so it wasn't an obscure reference for me and felt very natural. Perhaps if more people gave some insight into their predictable, "predictable" comments there might be some suggestion of many not knowing the reference.
Worse than the "predictable" comments are the "boo hoo it's not sci-fi" comments. Has every episode been sci-fi? Typically they have had some kind of tech but that doesn't seem to be the primary, defining feature of the show. It's called "Black Mirror" and the central aspect is that the stories hold up a "black mirror" to the viewer and society in general. In this episode they pivoted from the egg man to make a more popular story that will be seen by more people and draw tourists to the town. They use fairly manipulative arguments to convince and pressure Davis into making the film about the murders. The truth is revealed through old tech which could be viewed as a broad comment on where tech has come from to get where it is today and ultimately adds to the social commentary of the series overall. They could have easily added some kind of sci-fi ridiculous tech to the story but it was uneeded and like that Charlie has subverted peoples unreasonable expectations about what the show has to be.
I enjoyed the humour of the episode and thought it was well acted and shot. There were a couple of aspects I didn't like but I got over them easy enough as they weren't central to the main plot.
She could not have reacted in a worse way.
I saw that coming from a mile away
Very creepy mystery but also doesn't really feel like a Black Mirror episode.
for an episode of black mirror it's meh :confused:
seems like the show or this season is going down the Hill tsk tsk
People who like the 1st ep and hated this can go to H***... Yes, this lack the sci-fi touch from Black Mirror. But it was creepy nonetheless. And totally unpredictable,
very cheap writing - naive and borring
What an intense 50 minutes this was... I was totally hooked. Not as easy to watch as the first episode of the season but definitely high quality TV time.
It was okay. Felt like it actually had a purpose unlike many Black Mirror episodes. Ending was mid at best though. Had a lot of build up for mediocre ending.
yes, it doesn’t feel very ‘black mirror’ but it was still great.
Favorite episode yet; those who find it boring clearly can't handle suspense.
The best episode of the Netflix era. Goes old school back to the original series. Together with breathtaking scenery and an eerie setting ,this is a true real life horror rather than silly sci-fi. The acting was also top class. The girl and the mother putting their feet in when in conversation was funny. This would have made a great full length episode as it seemed to fly past, so needed more runtime.
Boring.
And even after the plot twist nothing interesting
Or how I like to call it: Mother helps out her son with his film project. Thanks mum.
"For your film. Mum."
truly horrifying.
Just like most episodes from this season, this should be part of a standalone Red Mirror Show.
This one had an old school Black Mirror feel to it. Really enjoyed this one.
If you see enough movies or series you know they practically spoiled us when the survivor from that scene is the policeman. Plus the drunk man makes it more obvious
good lord what is happening in here
just like old Black Mirror. I loved it.
Great episode, really liked the story.
enjoyed the episode, but that was more a crime story without black mirror soul inside
Is it the best episode of Black Mirror? No but still a good watch, in a town not too far from me. Recognized "Podrick" straight away!
From a true crime and horror perspective this felt kinda shallow and short-lived. We get a little of both but Loch Henry doesn't quite land any of the two. It has atmosphere, it's creepy, has a twisted intriguing villain but it doesn't do anything with it. Felt like everything happened off-screen, including the horror and I still barely know anything about the person we're studying in the true crime. I mean we get photos and an idea of it but it needed more meat, that shepherd's pie was half-baked. Could have done with a longer cooking time (runtime). Same goes for the true crime commentary... However, it does manage to redeem that commentary in the last scene when we focus on the victim's point of view—that was interesting. The twist was a good idea but it was so incredibly predictable. Beautiful landscapes and cinematography. Good acting. Again, very meta!
I liked it, but as many commenters already said, it's not really Black Mirror type stuff and the episode misses something. The pacing is off, first half is just too slow and the latter part is not that novel. If the end emphasised a bit more the contrast between one man's sorrow (well two mens', because there's Stuart's dad also present at the end) and commercial success of Davis's film and tourism in Loch Henry, the feel would be much more fuller.
it was good but not really with a Black Mirror flavour. maybe it was meant to be how technology was more analogue? the opposite of what we expect ?
real good episode, didn't see the ending coming
Shout by Andrew HenzeBlockedParent2023-06-17T10:36:05Z
Very slow and not very Black Mirror, more budget horror.