Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for Black Mirror Season 6.Season 6 ofCharlie Brooker’s critically-acclaimed Netflix anthology showBlack Mirrorhas finally landed on the streaming platform. Sinister streaming, alternate history epics, and twisted true crime dominated the batch of new episodes, not to mentioneaster eggs and referencesto previous seasons. The biggest surprise was the feature-length finale “Demon 79,” and Brooker’s innovative genre-switch marks a departure away from the show’s focus on tech-driven terror. “Demon 79” seems extrapolated from an entirely different creative pool with its horror-leanings, subverted Faustian Bargaining, British history, and grisly comedic pairing ofKilling Eve’sAnjana VasanandI May Destroy You’sPaapa Essiedu. It is a fun episode and hopefully indicative of more of the horror to come — which begs the question: Why is “Demon 79” presented by Red Mirror?
Speaking to The Radio Times,Brooker described “Demon 79” as “different-yet-adjacent-to-the-Black Mirror universe"and wants to explore horror-themed options under that label. The Red Mirror label presents theBlack Mirrorcreator with a unique opportunity to expand the series beyond the restrictions of the existing seriesinto horror storytelling that can narratively surpass the more grounded parameters of science fiction. “Demon 79” has connotations that can be traced back to the 1920s horror publicationWeird Talesand is a largely traditional horror tale (with a nasty sting) echoing “The Monkey’s Paw.” Brooker’s motivation was triggered by wanting to do something new: “So, partly what I was doing, I was setting myself a task of ‘What if I think of some storylines that aren’t to do with technology and are to do with horror or set in the past?'”
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What Is “Demon 79” About?
Timid Nida (Vasan) works in the shoe department of a clothing store and most days are an onslaught of microaggressions, casual racism, and vandalism on her property by thugs belonging to a far-right political group known as the National Front. The 1970s-set period piece abandons theBlack Mirrorformat of futurism, technocratic societies, and how humanity is impacted by technological progression. After a racist co-worker complains about Nida’s biryani lunch, her manager consigns her to the basement for lunch. While down there, she finds a talisman and accidentally summons the demonic delight Gaap (who isn’t in love with Paapa Essiedu?).
Gaap takes the guise ofBoney M’s Bobby Farrell before telling Nida he’s a demon on probation and has been assigned the task of corrupting Nida by convincing her to murder three people. She realizes the only way to survive and avert a nuclear apocalypse is to do what Gaap wants. Reluctant at first to take a human life, Gaap gradually eases Nida into homicide by pointing out how maybe some of her victims deserve it. Closer toTales from the CryptthanThe Outer Limitsandco-written byBisha K. Ali(Ms. Marvel,Loki), “Demon 79” signifies a reinvention for the show. A juxtaposition has been created (between Red and Black Mirror stories) and those seeing the episode for the first time (and unaware it was aBlack Mirrorepisode) wouldn’t automatically associate “Demon 79” with the existing series. Unlike its predecessors, it employs horror genre rules and is explicitly supernatural. It still has nods to previous episodes, but the only way the episode is tied to the primaryBlack Mirroruniverse is via Nida’s future visions. Red Mirror could hint at a new avenue to explore for the series, one with more horror leanings than previous seasons.
What Could Red Mirror Achieve for the Future of ‘Black Mirror’?
Past shows likeThe Twilight Zone,Tales from the Crypt, andThe Outer Limitshave all blended multiple genres, telling cross-genre stories to keep things refreshingly terrifying and not grow stale or unimaginative. If Brooker is proposing a spin-off anthology that connects to but is markedly different fromBlack Mirror,there is no reason it couldn’t be as successful. “Demon 79” benefited from Brooker working closely with co-writer Bisha K. Ali and delivering a tale that was equal parts buddy movie and existential horror show.
Brooker has admitted he wants to move away from what has become familiar to viewers, and if the primary show is capable of getting under our skin, imagine Brooker going full-on horror anthology. Some of the series’ darker episodes (“Metalhead”, “Crocodile”) hint at the direction a Red Mirror spinoff might take. But most importantly,Black Mirrorhas always done things a bit differently and has never been afraid to take creative risks along the way. We all know Brooker can produce grisly and frightening horror after 2008’sDead Set. The five-part limited reality TV satire takes place in theBig Brotherhouse during a zombie outbreak in the UK. A precursor toThe Walking DeadandBlack Mirror, it was laced with dark humor and intelligent writing and was brutal from start to finish. If a Red Mirror spinoff series can deliver something as nightmarish asDead Set,we’ve all got something to be excited and scared about.
