1984. Stefan is developing a computer game based on the book ‘Bandersnatch’, a novel where you get to make choices and this determines the story. He has an opportunity to take his game to Tuckersoft, a software company, and have them release it. However, the more he works on the game the more his life emulates the game, with choices being made that are out of his control. Stefan appears to be going insane.
Black Mirror: Bandersnatch is a 2018 psychological thriller interactive film in the science fiction anthology series Black Mirror. It was written by series creator Charlie Brooker and directed by David Slade. Netflix released the standalone film on 28 December 2018.
In Bandersnatch, viewers make decisions for the main character, the young programmer Stefan Butler (Fionn Whitehead) who is adapting a fantasy choose-your-own-adventure novel into a video game in 1984. Other characters include Mohan Thakur (Asim Chaudhry) and Colin Ritman (Will Poulter), both of whom work at a video game company, Butler’s father, Peter (Craig Parkinson) and Butler’s therapist, Dr. Haynes (Alice Lowe).
The film is based on a planned Imagine Software video game of the same name which went unreleased after the company filed for bankruptcy. It also alludes to Lewis Carroll’s own works that feature the bandersnatch creature. A piece of science fiction and horror, Bandersnatch incorporates meta-commentary and rumination on free will.
Brooker and executive producer Annabel Jones were approached by Netflix about making an interactive film in May 2017, during which time Netflix had several interactive projects for children underway. Difficulty in writing the highly non-linear script led to the creation of a bespoke Branch Manager for Netflix, and the unique nature of the content required adaptations in the platform’s use of cache memory.
Filming and production took longer than for typical Black Mirror episodes, resulting in the show’s fifth series being delayed. A quickly-deleted tweet from a Netflix account about the release of Bandersnatch led to widespread media speculation throughout December, which Netflix declined to comment on. The trailer for Bandersnatch was released on 27 December 2018, a day before the film was released. Critical reception for the film was generally positive, though some found the interactive nature to be too gimmicky for a proper Black Mirror narrative.
Black Mirror: Bandersnatch (2018)
Directed by: David Slade
Starring: Fionn Whitehead, Craig Parkinson, Alice Lowe, Asim Chaudhry, Will Poulter, Tallulah Haddon, Catriona Knox, Jonathan Aris, Fleur Keith, Laura Evelyn, Alan Asaad
Screenplay by: Charlie Brooker
Production Design by: Catrin Meredydd
Cinematography by: Aaron Morton, Jake Polonsky
Film Editing by: Tony Kearns
Costume Design by: Caroline Harris
Set Decoration by: Jason Fitzpatrick, Maggie Ogden
Art Direction by: Phil Noall, Fabrice Spelta, Damian Léon Watts
Music by: Brian Reitzell
Distributed by: Netflix
Release Date: December 28, 2018
Visits: 122
