Netflix's Killer Horror-Comedy: A Black Mirror Masterpiece in Disguise!
Netflix's It's What's Inside: A Better Black Mirror Episode Than Most Black Mirror Episodes?
Netflix's It's What's Inside is a seriously mind-bending horror-comedy that's secretly one of the best Black Mirror episodes in years, maybe even better than most official Black Mirror episodes from Netflix's run. The movie drops you into a pre-wedding party; a group of friends about to face some unexpectedly massive troubles which changes almost everything for them!
It all starts with this mysterious guest who rolls up with a crazy briefcase. Turns out it is something very special, a super-advanced body-swapping machine! The resulting party game? Guess who's in whose body! What unfolds after this point will truly surprise anyone unfamiliar with the original source material. It's pure chaos from then on!
The first two Black Mirror seasons (plus the Christmas special) aired on Channel 4, emphasizing the overall darkness found throughout the various stories featured within each episode. From season three onward, however; Netflix becomes the new streaming platform where more Black Mirror was released; but those subsequent series became somewhat of a mixed bag; there are some gems for sure; but a far smaller collection when compared to earlier series; even more notably: several seasons were considered much less good and not very impressive.
But, It's What's Inside? It's basically a Black Mirror episode with that amazing dystopian, sci-fi spin around that central human aspect which creates such profound impacts in many places! And some might just agree, it’s much better!
Body Swapping, Social Commentary, and a Shocking Twist
Black Mirror often uses futuristic tech to explore morality. "The Entire History of You" (Season 1, Episode 3) looked at those extremely tense interpersonal issues caused by having a memory-recording device. And "Crocodile" (Season 4, Episode 3) showed the awful repercussions for killers from a memory-viewing machine! And while technology has become an integral aspect to many storylines, and the progression of humanity’s continued relationship with such technology presents some difficult challenges;
It's What's Inside is super similar, employing a body-swapping machine for exploring issues among a group of long-time friends! Suddenly everyone begins revealing deep, dark secrets! This shows that many issues remain under the surface for many of the close relationships in the story.
And it's got that epic Black Mirror twist ending! That sudden change in perspective completely recontextualizes everything; resulting in another extremely surprising yet completely satisfying twist! That last-minute revelation just completely changed everything. This is great storytelling. This particular type of plot resolution remains quite surprising, for good reasons.
What Black Mirror Season 7 Should Learn From This Hit
It's What's Inside provides a good framework for that potentially upcoming Black Mirror season 7. Season six had decent episodes, "Loch Henry" (that great murder mystery) and "Beyond the Sea" (a tense space-bound drama) –but Black Mirror, since switching over to Netflix in 2016 has really toned down the creepy factor. That amazing blend of technological suspense; suspenseful moments involving an overwhelmingly spooky atmosphere is what we’re hoping Black Mirror would bring back. And It's What's Inside does exactly that! Its unique approach could inspire many upcoming seasons and make it more exciting for long time fans.
Conclusion: A Hidden Gem Worthy of All the Praise
It's What's Inside really showcases that amazingly unexpected gem in Netflix's growing selection of content! And while it might just be an independent horror movie, its thematic similarities with Black Mirror; and its use of that super dark social commentary combined with an impressively well-done technological terror make it a great standalone. A compelling argument; which should be something to keep in mind while streaming those recent releases, highlighting how those thematic and stylistic aspects might bring certain films closer to each other, irrespective of explicit claims by creators, which often fails to fully capture its intended purpose, yet delivers much more profound implications on several layers. So stream this movie immediately if you enjoy that brand of Black Mirror!
