Fans of Netlfix's surreal psychological sci-fi horror hit Black Mirror will receive a special post-Christmas gift in the form of a stand-alone film called Bandersnatch. The trailer for the movie (watch above) shows a young man in a new work position being hyped up by his enthusiastic boss, who promises, "We're gonna be a hit factory, like Motown! But for computer games," as the morose young man gazes about the 1984-esque office setting. Chilly palettes and austere lighting relay the signature tone of the episodic series, with director David Slade's familiar touch — you can see his previous Black Mirror work in the "Metalhead" episode from the show's fourth season.
Another player enters the clip, telling the protagonist to skip his medication as, "when it's a concept piece, a bit of madness is what you need." The main character flushes his medicine, presumably of the psychotropic variety, and the quest to create a new engrossing game begins.
Era-specific club banger "Relax" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood starts up as a montage of the young man beginning his descent into lunacy begins. Cryptic images flash across his television before cutting to a bloody crime scene, a closeup of rapidly enlarging pupils fills the screen, and a mysterious frizzy-haired woman in ostentatious mid-Eighties style creeps into one shot, all converging on a scene where the man sticks his hand through a mirror, triggering an onslaught of more horrifying, disorienting segments.
Bandersnatch is officially available for streaming on Netflix tomorrow, December 28th. A fifth season of Black Mirror was confirmed by the platform earlier this month, and a "Choose Your Own" style episode or movie has also been teased. While rumors are circulating that this may be that installment, no confirmation has been issued.
