Netflix has an interesting variety of horror TV shows, but, interestingly enough, its scariest show isn’t a horror one. Although there are many more streaming platforms nowadays, Netflix is still one of the most popular ones. In addition to producing original content, Netflix continues to offer licensed content from a variety of genres and for viewers of all ages, some of them ranking among the best TV shows of all time.
Netflix has also offered a home to shows that were either canceled on their original networks or simply needed a new platform. Shows like Lucifer, Manifest, and Arrested Development are some examples of titles picked up by Netflix that were given more seasons at their new home, thus becoming Netflix Originals. In this category is also Black Mirror, one of the best sci-fi shows of all time.
Black Mirror premiered on Channel 4, and it moved to Netflix after its first two seasons and the special episode “White Christmas.” Black Mirror is now preparing its eighth season, to be also released on Netflix, and though it has had some lows throughout its run, it stands as one of the best sci-fi shows of all time. However, Black Mirror is also one of the scariest shows in recent years, despite not being a horror show.
Black Mirror Proves That Scary TV Doesn’t Have To Be Horror
When it comes to horror shows, Netflix has stood out with both licensed and original content. In the latter category, Netflix has brought shows like The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass, All Of Us Are Dead, Marianne, and Archive 81, all of them different types of horror to appeal to a wider and more varied audience.
The Haunting of Hill House, for example, leans more towards psychological horror instead of gore and jumpscares, Midnight Mass is a slow-burn horror story, All Of Us Are Dead is an apocalyptic zombie horror show, and Archive 81 is more about supernatural horror. While these shows are scary in their own way and for different audiences, none of them come close to the horrors of Black Mirror, which isn’t even a horror show.
Although every episode of Black Mirror tells a different story and has a different cast, Black Mirror has a basic premise for all of them: the exploration of the impact of technology and media, in different futures where technology has advanced to disturbing levels. Black Mirror is a sci-fi show, but its premise and themes are what make it scary.
Even though Black Mirror presents scenarios that aren’t real (yet) and the technology is speculative at least for now, the show goes into some real horrors. Through these, Black Mirror explores the darkest and most disturbing sides of humans, addressing real-life issues and uncomfortable truths that make these stories relatable and believable.
Black Mirror Has Horror Episodes, But They Aren’t Its Most Terrifying
Over the course of seven seasons so far, Black Mirror has given viewers a taste of the horrors that advanced technology and media can bring, but not always in horror episodes. Black Mirror does have horror episodes, most notably “Playtest”, “Mazey Day”, and “Demon 79.”
“Playtest” follows Cooper (Wyatt Russell), who, in need of money while abroad, takes an offer to playtest an experimental augmented reality horror game. However, while Cooper sees some disturbing things within the game, the real horrors are in the real world and in the show’s heartbreaking twist. “Mazey Day” went into supernatural horror with a werewolf, as did “Demon 79”, where a demon tells Nida to kill three people in order to save the world.
As good as these episodes are, they aren’t Black Mirror’s scariest episodes, and its sci-fi episodes stand as the truly terrifying ones. As mentioned above, Black Mirror’s scariness comes from its themes, which make way for some truly creative and horrifying stories that reflect the real world.
So far, Black Mirror has shown the consequences of a social-media-obsessed society where everyone must be ranked (“Nosedive”) and can be easily manipulated and distracted (“The National Anthem”), as well as a society that has turned torture into entertainment (“White Bear” and “Black Museum”).
Other scary Black Mirror episodes go into the privacy issues that advanced technology can trigger (“The Entire History of You” and “Arkangel”), how technology and companies make a profit out of people’s pain (“Common People”), and the many ethical questions and issues of technological advancements, for which I will go with “Beyond the Sea” as example, because there are many.
Black Mirror’s horror without being a horror show is a big part of its appeal and success, along with its creativity, cleverness, performances, and relatability despite its sci-fi elements. Black Mirror season 8 will surely bring more terrifying episodes, combined with tragic ones that aren’t exactly scary but will still give the audience something to think about for a long while.
- Release Date
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December 4, 2011
- Network
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Channel 4, Netflix
- Showrunner
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Charlie Brooker
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
