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Loch Henry

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"Loch Henry"
Black Mirror episode
Promotional poster
Episode no.Series 6
Episode 2
Directed bySam Miller
Written byCharlie Brooker
Original air date15 June 2023 (2023-06-15)
Running time54 minutes
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
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"Loch Henry" is the second episode of the sixth series of the anthology series Black Mirror. It was written by series creator Charlie Brooker and directed by Sam Miller. The episode was released on Netflix, along with the rest of series six, on 15 June 2023.

The episode follows a young couple, Davis and Pia, film students making a true crime documentary in Davis's hometown in rural Scotland.

Plot

Film students Davis McCardle and Pia Koreshi visit Davis's widowed mother Janet in his hometown of Loch Henry, Scotland, intending to film a documentary about a local egg collector. The two visit a pub owned by Davis' childhood friend Stuart King, where Davis and Stuart tell Pia the story of Iain Adair, a local who tortured and murdered tourists in the 1990s. Adair's crimes were discovered when Davis's father Kenneth, a policeman, visited him after an intoxicated Adair threatened patrons at the pub, then owned by Stuart's father Richard. Adair shot Kenneth before killing his parents and finally himself, with Kenneth later dying from an MRSA infection contracted from his gunshot wound.

Pia is enamored by the story and proposes making the documentary about Adair instead. Davis initially declines the idea, but changes his mind when Stuart and Janet offer their support. The two begin their film, recording their footage over Janet's old tapes of the TV series Bergerac.

Davis and Pia seek assistance for the documentary from film producer Kate Cezar, but she notes that the case is already closed and encourages them to find unexplored angles to the story. Davis, Pia and Stuart break into Adair's abandoned home and explore the basement once used as a dungeon where Adair tortured his victims. On the ride back, Davis accidentally crashes the group's van into a tractor in a head-on collision, landing him in an overnight stay at the hospital. Richard is also in the small hospital overnight after having previously fallen down the stairs in his pub.

Pia and Janet go home while Davis recovers from his injuries. While editing footage, Pia discovers that the Bergerac cassette they are using contains a recording of one of Iain's murders, revealing him to in fact be the accomplice of both Davis' parents. Pia, horrified, leaves the house trying to find cell reception to call Davis. A suspicious Janet finds the video on Pia's laptop and drives after her. Pia attempts to escape through the wilderness on foot, but dies when she falls and hits her head while crossing a stream.

Meanwhile, in the hospital Richard tells Davis to stop making the film, as Richard always suspected Davis's parents as being involved. Janet, fearing discovery, returns to the house. She chuckles as she looks at old photos of her past victims being tortured. She then hangs herself, leaving a suicide note and her collection of tapes behind.

A documentary is then produced by Cezar for streaming service Streamberry that recounts Davis and Pia's own investigation and discoveries about the case. The film becomes a smash hit that wins a BAFTA and brings newfound attention to the town of Loch Henry. Davis, however, remains traumatized by the experience, and returns to his hotel room alone after the BAFTA ceremony where he rereads his mother's suicide note: "For your film. Mum."

Production

Netflix announced that a sixth Black Mirror series was in development in May 2022, nearly three years since the previous series was released.[1] The episode was written by series creator Charlie Brooker, and directed by Sam Miller;[2] actress Weruche Opia, who co-starred in Miller's series I May Destroy You, makes a cameo as an actress attending the BAFTA afterparty at the end of the episode.

In writing the episode, Brooker was inspired by his experiences watching true crime documentaries, noticing how the genre's increasingly cinematic and art house style gave an air of being "somber, serious" and "important". He believed this masked its perverse, "rubbernecking" nature.[3]: 3:30–4:00  Additionally, he had searched for locations after seeing their use in documentaries, as landscapes and scenic details were used to fill space due to a lack of crime-related footage.[3]: 6:10–6:45  Brooker observed that the "texture of old media" had become fetishised.[3]: 7:45–8:00  He said it was about turning "horrible things" into "a sumptuous form of entertainment".[4]

Casting and filming

Filming took place in Loch Lomond in Scotland

An April 2023 casting announcement included Samuel Blenkin, Myha'la Herrold, Daniel Portman, John Hannah, and Monica Dolan,[5] who were linked to the episode "Loch Henry" the following month.[2]

"Loch Henry" is the first Black Mirror episode to take place in Scotland. The film crew used Loch Lomond as their base and filmed in 18 locations within Scotland. The majority of the episode was filmed in Arrochar, near the Argyll Forest.[6] Some filming took place in September 2022 when the main street of Inveraray in Argyll and Bute was transformed into the town of Loch Henry, set in the 1990s.[7] The episode was always intended to be set in Scotland; Brooker said it had an "unsentimental strand of humour" that the episode tried to draw on.[3]: 4:30–5:45 

Portman said he had "never laughed out loud so much" on reading a script.[3]: 2:30–2:40  Hannah discovered that the episode had more than the "straightforward horror found footage tale" he initially thought it was, as this narrative is deconstructed.[3]: 2:00–2:30  Blenkin opined that Davis would struggle to deal with his trauma due to its public nature, and that it could lead him to "become really cynical".[8]

Reception

On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the episode holds an approval rating of 82% based on 11 reviews.[9] The Independent rated it three stars out of five,[10] while The Daily Telegraph gave it four stars.[11]

Notes

References

  1. ^ Ravindran, Manori (16 May 2022). "Black Mirror Returns: New Series in the Works at Netflix (Exclusive)". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on 15 June 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  2. ^ a b May 11, Christian Holub (11 May 2023). "'Black Mirror' season 6 reveals episode details, new photos". Entertainment Weekly. Dotdash Meredith. Archived from the original on 15 June 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ a b c d e f Charlie Brooker reveals the inspiration behind the Black Mirror episode 'Loch Henry'. BAFTA On Set. British Academy of Film and Television Arts. 15 June 2023. Retrieved 17 June 2023 – via YouTube.
  4. ^ Stefansky, Emma (15 June 2023). "Black Mirror Season 6: Charlie Brooker Breaks Down Every Episode". Esquire. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  5. ^ Strause, Jackie (26 April 2023). "Black Mirror Sets Season 6 Return, Reveals Cast and Teaser Trailer". The Hollywood Reporter. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on 15 May 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  6. ^ Bitran, Tara (20 June 2023). "Is Loch Henry a Real Place in 'Black Mirror'?". netflix.com. Netflix.
  7. ^ Tiwari, Vidushi (7 September 2022). "In Pictures: Scots town transformed into 90s set for 'Netflix series'". STV News. Archived from the original on 25 March 2023.
  8. ^ Flood, Alex (16 June 2023). "'Black Mirror' season six post-watch guide: trivia, set secrets and more". NME. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  9. ^ "Loch Henry". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  10. ^ Hilton, Nick (15 June 2023). "Black Mirror season six review: Charlie Brooker's sci-fi mishmash needs to stop messing with a winning formula". The Independent. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  11. ^ Power, Ed (15 June 2023). "In Loch Henry, Black Mirror takes on relentless and exploitative true-crime". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 16 June 2023.

Further reading

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