The Horror Show
Black Mirror: Bandersnatch
by David Slade
Abrupt, jarring, unnecessary, horrible, violent, unsettling, weird, awful, scary, dark, bleak, and creepy.
Those are words plucked straight from a character’s mouth in the film Black Mirror: Bandersnatch. Words justifiably used as the character reviews the game sharing the film’s title in one of the abounding endings you will come across as you sit down and strap in for the undeniably fun ride that is Black Mirror’s first feature length film. It is, in case you’ve been living under a rock, the first interactive choose your own adventure style film that you can enjoy in the comfort of your own home. (I say in your own home because back in 1967 there was an experimental short film that briefly graced theaters in Europe called Kinoautomat.)
Yeah yeah, I know, this movie’s been out for over a month and we’ve all moved on to the next great thing, right? Honestly, the great thing about this movie is that it will be relevant for quite some time as there are literally too many pathways for my small, human brain to count.
Bandersnatch has over a trillion different story combos. I don’t imagine that in my lifetime I will be able to view anywhere near close to this many because at just over two hours, I found myself exhausted. However, I don’t think the point was to watch this film until it becomes unenjoyable.
With a myriad of different choices that are super meta, this movie is exceptional on so many levels. Not only does the dialogue guide you in a way, it also chides you and often points out that you’re never really in control. That’s a main theme in the narrative, a theme that, in true Black Mirror fashion, serves as a bleak reminder that it isn’t technology we ever need to be afraid of, it’s ourselves.
The amount of effort put forth into making a film such as this is commendable. The writers, actors, director — hell, everybody involved — did their job and did it damn well. It’s not an easy task to be able to put together a film in the first place, but to be able to execute countless narrative paths that involve the viewer… well, that sure is something. There’s even a secret ending, just like we often get with some video games and there are also a ton of great nods to other Black
Mirror episodes, but I won’t give them away, you should have fun hunting for these Easter Eggs on your own!
The concept isn’t anything new, of course. Choose your own adventure books have existed for quite some time now. (Fun Fact: the company ChooseCo is actually suing Netflix at the moment. Look it up if you’d like to know more, I’m not your personal Google Assistant.) Video games have also been nailing this concept for awhile as well with enjoyable titles such as Until Dawn, Life is Strange, any TellTale Games title, and many more. With that being said, Bandersnatch opens up the choose your own adventure genre to a wider audience in that you don’t have to be a reader or a gamer to enjoy this type of thing.
I think what I appreciated the most about this film was the fact that it broke the fourth wall so many times. The dialogue was specifically designed around the choices the viewers could, and would, make. There were also quite a few times where you could actually speak to the main character through your choices. It’s just such an overall fun experience, but as I stated earlier, it can be quite exhausting if you spend too much time on it all at once.
My recommendation is: absolutely watch this film. Watch it as many times as you can, aim to get a different ending every time, but don’t do it all at once, or it’ll wear you down and grow boring all too quickly.
Stevie Kopas, HMS
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