Loch Henry

A young couple return to his family home in a remote, sleepy Scottish village, a village that hides a secret, a secret his girlfriend is keen to expose in a documentary.

I'll go so far as to say this is best thing I've seen so far this year, this was classic Black Mirror. Initially you may be thinking you're watching a straight up mystery thriller, wondering exactly where The Black Mirror element is, but trust me it comes, and just to remember that Black Mirror has always been about a terrifying insight into the future, and for Davis, that's exactly what it is.

The story was so wonderfully macabre and twisted, the first half is measured, but builds well, the last twenty minutes were off the scale, that was some climax.

The music was great, it was well produced as you'd expect. It really did have a sort of classic feel to it.

The acting was so good, Myha'la Herrold, Samuel Blenkin and John Hannah were spot on, Monica Dolan however, whenever I see her name appear, I know what I'm about to watch will be good. Trouble is I'm so accustomed to her stealing the show, and I now except it, and guess what, that's exactly what she does, again, she is phenomenal.

I absolutely loved it, the best for a while.

10/10.

Black Mirror has always been a startling commentary on technology. This season has been drifting away from that and bordering on some kind of horror/fantasy. Why can't the writers pause and remember that San Junipero was their best episode and realize that we don't need to feel scared, we need to be mesmerized and surprised by new concepts surrounding technological advancements. And if those concepts happen to excite us or just freak us out, cool. But the goal doesn't need to simply be to freak us out. Mazey Day & Demon 79 had the same problem. While these kinds of episodes are entertaining on their own, they aren't Black Mirror.

I am not going to write a long essay with spoilers about the episode. If you have watched the episode you know everything. But if you haven't then watch it. But better without the expectations of a Black Mirror story.

Acting wise, casting wise, direction wise and cinematography was fantastic as usual. And the story is also a good thriller. But as a black mirror fan I expect something extraordinary in a black mirror episode like something happens with a technological advantage or something futuristic or something like a parallel universe. It could be released as a separate film or limited series like 'Behind her eyes'(Although that story was different) or other thrillers. But missed that X factor.

I much prefer this episode over the first. It hits all of the things Black Mirror does best: Realistic settings with realistic characters exploring some morally gray subjects with technology at the base of it. It's classic Black Mirror. This episode also has a whole lot more character in its cinematography and editing. Unfortunately I think it is slightly predictable, especially in how some of the actors portray their roles. But the story is still told and acted well, despite some predictably. I do hope the rest of the season stays at this level of quality, but this was really needed after the slop that was episode one.

Evidently, creator Charlie Brooker's turned his existential anxiety inwards for this latest batch of episodes (immediately solidifying the installment as one of the most creatively audacious seasons since its inception) & so rather than expressing worry about the exterior world around him, he's inventively found a way to evolve "Black Mirror" in to something far more introspective so it's able to perfectly communicate his justifiable concerns regarding the cynicism of the content he's expected to continually make for prospective audiences in the film / TV industries.

It's a valid point, well made (in his defence) - considering the constant production of macabre material does likely contribute to societies' gradual desensitisation to inconsolable misery (something we should understandably never become accustomed to, for good reason, nor witness as frequently as we do, on screen) & therefore, I appreciate the self-aware, emotional maturity shown - in acknowledging the inadvertent detrimental consequences to feeding a particular (arguably unethical) demand, for the sole purpose of commodification & profit in a dystopian system that wrongly rewards those acts of inconsiderate selfishness.

Plus, rather than attempting to wondrously predict the future (admittedly, a reliable foresight which has transformed in to a bit of a gimmick, these days), it's also refreshing to see the executive producer gift us with something new, reflectively looking back at his own legacy with hindsight instead - to question if the price paid for success has truly been worth it.

We don't normally get that hesitation in response to mean-spiritedness... Though as this asks; maybe we should?

Hence, with "Loch Henry", he & director Sam Miller dig deep, using one genre we heavily tend to associate with controversy as a basis on which to form their argument (acting as a general example of the well-intentioned, indulging in immorality), delivering a scathing commentary, analysing the theoretically senseless damage done to every-day people by the commercialisation of exploitative true crime documentaries - in easily one of the darkest, most disturbing features ever included in the show.