Online Series: Black Mirror: Bandersnatch (Interactive Netflix Movie) - OUT NOW!

[Rodgerwilco]

Spoiler: Hidden Ending Scene

There is a secret ending scene that rolls after the credits that can be unlocked. The scene is relatively plain (it shows Stefan riding on the bus and playing his game, rather than listening to a tape)

The interesting part is that the device he's using plays an odd sound which some fan decided to run through a ZX Spectrum emulator. When 'translated', it spit out a QR code. When the QR code was followed: this website was linked, which is a fictional website for the Tuckersoft company, filled with references to other Black Mirror episodes.

You can find an interactive advertisement for the Coach system (from 'Hang the DJ'), which lets you check your expiry date with a partner too. Also, you can find the rating system app from "Nosedive" and a job listing for Tuckersoft (which links to real job openings for Netflix).

The website also contains a playable version of the Nohzdyve game which is being developed by Colin in the Bandersnatch movie.

I think the little extra stuff here adds to the depth of the experience, IMO.

 

[PB37]

Enjoyable but I was expecting more. I liked the concept but I felt the story fell flat in it's third stanza. I still had fun watching it and going thru the different options.

 

[Tuggy]

I was pretty excited and anxious to watch it. In the end, it was okay.

 

[TD Charlie]

Went through it again last night in an attempt to get different endings. Aside from the Pearl Ritman ending i think they’re all very dull. The therapist fight scene was humorous at least. Anyone else find that woman wildly attractive?

Just too many dead ends and too much confusion with the tv screens giving the choice to go back. The whole concept is clever and it has some clever bits, but i still think the execution is poor.

Loved the acting. Best scene is easily the acid trip in Colin’s house.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

Went through it again last night in an attempt to get different endings. Aside from the Pearl Ritman ending i think they’re all very dull. The therapist fight scene was humorous at least. Anyone else find that woman wildly attractive?

Just too many dead ends and too much confusion with the tv screens giving the choice to go back. The whole concept is clever and it has some clever bits, but i still think the execution is poor.

Loved the acting. Best scene is easily the acid trip in Colin’s house.

It's helpful to look through a chart to see how different choices open up various storylines. It was fun for me to go through different choices and to try to make different variations in the story. Some scenes require you to make the same choice multiple times when it flashes back to "unlock" them.


I would agree that the acid trip at Colin's house is the best scene by far. Reminiscent of Fear & Loathing, I think.

 

[kihei]

Fun on a small level; hope this doesn't catch on, though.

 

[M.C.G. 31]

Watching it now. So much for letting me control the story when it loops back or makes me “go back” for choosing the “wrong” one lol

Edit: went through and replayed 5 times where it prompted me and got 5 endings until finally getting to the credits with no options to go back at a certain point.

Good in theory, but awful execution imho and one of the weaker Black Mirror episodes/movie.

 

[izzy]

wow that was an awful waste of time

 

[Nizdizzle]

I found the story somewhat boring. I like that Netflix attempted it and took a risk, but the entire making choices thing kinda pulled me out of the story rather than making it more immersive. I had trouble following what was going on with the plot and when I reached the "end" it was a feeling of relief that I didn't need to relive any more of the repetitive scenes. Points for effort, but hope it doesn't catch on.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

Man, I'm pretty surprised by so many people not enjoying this. I had a great time going back through and experimenting to get different scenes and endings, making different decisions and what not. I thought that the acting was pretty solid, wasn't CRAZY about Stefan's character, but I think he did fairly well, especially when it came to the more demented scenes. I thought that Will Poulter (Colin) was the strongest acting performance in this movie.

I don't understand people not wanting it to 'catch on'. Just don't watch them if you don't like them. I'm looking forward to more of these types of 'movies' (there will certainly be more in the future).

 

[Nizdizzle]

Man, I'm pretty surprised by so many people not enjoying this. I had a great time going back through and experimenting to get different scenes and endings, making different decisions and what not. I thought that the acting was pretty solid, wasn't CRAZY about Stefan's character, but I think he did fairly well, especially when it came to the more demented scenes. I thought that Will Poulter (Colin) was the strongest acting performance in this movie.

I don't understand people not wanting it to 'catch on'. Just don't watch them if you don't like them. I'm looking forward to more of these types of 'movies' (there will certainly be more in the future).

If it catches on, it means more of Netflix resources going towards these type of movies rather than the content I would like to consume.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

If it catches on, it means more of Netflix resources going towards these type of movies rather than the content I would like to consume.

Netflix is a mega-giant company, it's not like they're only capable of producing one or two things at a time.

Also, I imagine that other platforms are going to be giving it a try too, and it will become a much more refined medium as well, which will make them better. This is pretty much the first thing of its kind (yeah I know there have been Steam games with a similar system, but this is more accessible).

Not wanting this to catch on because you think it will take away from other things you enjoy is akin to being in 1905 and not wanting to the Model T to catch on because you didn't like the first car and think it'll take away from the horse market and you like horses.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

If it catches on, it means more of Netflix resources going towards these type of movies rather than the content I would like to consume.

Oh well. There are plenty of crap Netflix puts on that i don't like, i just don't watch it. Sorry they aren't going to cater on what you like and dont like.

 

[Nizdizzle]

Netflix is a mega-giant company, it's not like they're only capable of producing one or two things at a time.

Also, I imagine that other platforms are going to be giving it a try too, and it will become a much more refined medium as well, which will make them better. This is pretty much the first thing of its kind (yeah I know there have been Steam games with a similar system, but this is more accessible).

Not wanting this to catch on because you think it will take away from other things you enjoy is akin to being in 1905 and not wanting to the Model T to catch on because you didn't like the first car and think it'll take away from the horse market and you like horses.

Okay, a little condescending there but alright. People were pretty confident that 3D movies where things were the future of theater as well after Avatar came out. I said the same thing there. The trend didn't catch on like everyone expected and has not become the industry standard for new films.

Oh well. There are plenty of crap Netflix puts on that i don't like, i just don't watch it. Sorry they aren't going to cater on what you like and dont like.

I don't get the hostility here - I'm not looking for pity or apologies, just stating my preference. I'm not saying I'm going to boycott Netflix or blow a gasket if they do more of these movies. I just personally don't like the format, and hope it goes away. If you like it, I assume you feel the opposite and that's fine.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

Okay, a little condescending there but alright. People were pretty confident that 3D movies where things were the future of theater as well after Avatar came out. I said the same thing there. The trend didn't catch on like everyone expected and has not become the industry standard for new films.

I don't see how that's condescending in the slightest, I surely didn't mean it to be insulting in any way. I was just looking for an analogy to describe something comparable. If you're looking at the first movie of this kind and already saying that you hope the entire style disappears forever after the first one is a little bit short-sighted and selfish.

I'm not saying that choose-your-own-adventure movies are going to be the new standard of entertainment, for the record. Just like 3D, they will likely always be a niche.

 

[DCDM]

I just got around to watching Bandersnatch last night. I wasn't really sure what to expect so I went in without knowing anything aside from that it was the choose-your-own-adventure movie.

I didn't hate it, I thought it was fairly well done, but the story was lacking in my opinion. I'd be open to them trying to do more of this but IMO the beauty of Black Mirror is the feeling of helplessness you get when watching it and the fact I had to choose which path to take kind of hindered my ability to get immersed in the episode. I also feel like I kind of got unlucky with my choices - I stumbled upon the more meta Netflix ending before I got to the actual Black Mirror-type ending which kinda just ruined it for me in the end.

I would have preferred a more linear story that culminated in one of the endings (specifically the one that happens when you put PAC into the safe). I thought that was the truest BM ending out of them all, next to the TOY ending.

I hope the actual S5 episodes are more traditional BM. Like I said, I wouldn't be opposed to them trying this again but it's hard to make it immersive when you have to be pulled out of it to make choices every ten minutes.

 

[JetsFan815]

If it catches on, it means more of Netflix resources going towards these type of movies rather than the content I would like to consume.

Thankfully there is almost no danger of this catching on, each branch in such stories will result in an exponential amount of work, resources & money and it is impossible to maintain quality in such a project. I would even be willing to say that this will the only project of this kind on Netflix in the foreseeable future.

 

[JetsFan815]

I was not a fan of this either. The part where you tell Stephan that he is being controlled by Netflix and the 15 minutes around it was where the movie peaked for me. After a while I lost a lot of investment in the character and was only clicking around to see what would happen.

 

[donkshow]

It was alright.

I just hope season 5 is good, but hearing that there could be more "positive" episodes rather than the darker ones has me very discouraged.

 

[LarKing]

It was super entertaining at first but then I realized how a ton of the options led to the same paths. Was that supposed to be the point? They kinda say you’re being controlled and free will is an illusion.

 

[M.C.G. 31]

It was super entertaining at first but then I realized how a ton of the options led to the same paths. Was that supposed to be the point? They kinda say you’re being controlled and free will is an illusion.

It was so meta when Colin was talking about you just having the illusion of choice but they all lead to the same place anyways, and that’s exactly what we got for the most part.

 

[Ducks in a row]

I watched it seeing all the paths and some of it I liked but overall for me it was meh

 

[Upgrayedd]

Enjoyed the concept but felt the story itself missed the essence of the show in some parts, the best BM episodes to me always reflect the show's title in that I need roughly 30 minutes post viewing with the TV off to think about and un-pack some of the topics discussed, the best episodes have me thinking about life a bit different which this one did a bit with the alternate timelines bit but not close to some of the others. Still my fav show though!

 

[Frankie Blueberries]

If it catches on, it means more of Netflix resources going towards these type of movies rather than the content I would like to consume.

Most of Netflix's content sucks already anyways.
I think there is plenty of room for improvement for this style of storytelling. This, along with that Final Destination movie, are among the first to try it. It can only get better IMO.

 

[Supermassive]

I was not a fan of this either. The part where you tell Stephan that he is being controlled by Netflix and the 15 minutes around it was where the movie peaked for me. After a while I lost a lot of investment in the character and was only clicking around to see what would happen.

I spent about 20 minutes surfing around options, finding endings, and avoiding the Netflix button because I thought clicking the button would bring me back to the Netflix menu. Then I finally clicked it, and was blown away. Better than any mid- or post-credits scene in any movie I seen.

Perhaps people's expectations were not too high, but maybe inappropriate? Because as a choose-your-own adventure tv episode, it's a complete success - to me, anyway.