If You Like Black Mirror, Then You Definitely Need to Watch the Next Film in the Series.
Fans of dark atmosphere and cynicism have found their perfect series in Black Mirror , Charlie Brooker’s modern take on The Twilight Zone . Focusing on technology and all the ways it can destroy and frighten (and sometimes save and sustain) us, the series has exposed the darkest sides of social media, memory, virtual worlds, and dating algorithms, usually to chilling effect. If the long gaps between short seasons leave you craving more dystopia and tech-fueled psychological horror (and you’ve already watched all the similar shows ), perhaps you need a more sustained immersion in atmospheric desolation. If so, there’s one film that perfectly suits the atmosphere of Black Mirror : Moon, starring Sam Rockwell.
Why Moon Is the Perfect Companion to Black Mirror
This mind-blowing sci-fi film starts darkly and gets progressively darker, drawing on the same paranoia and mistrust of technology as Black Mirror . Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) is the sole occupant of a largely automated helium-3 mining facility on the dark side of the Moon. Accompanied only by an artificial intelligence named Gertie (played by Kevin Spacey), Sam believes his three-year contract is coming to an end and he will soon return to his family on Earth. However, when he discovers his own gravely injured body in a rover crash site outside the facility, his reality begins to unravel as he realizes the truth: he is ultimately nothing more than a corporate asset, and he will never return home.
What makes Moon the perfect film for Black Mirror fans is how it simultaneously explores the dark side of a scientific breakthrough (easy and reliable cloning) and simply makes you think. Sam’s initial satisfaction gives way to bewilderment, and then to angry horror when he realizes what’s happening. The story shows how technologies that are supposed to improve our lives can be used against us, to strip us of free will and exploit us in ways we can’t even imagine right now.
Like the best Black Mirror episodes (like “San Junipero”), “Moon” ultimately reaches an ending that both surprises and underscores the resilience and indomitability of the human spirit. The film argues that technology can be a nightmare when misused, but as humans, we will always find a way to break free from its clutches and achieve something approaching justice. Add to that Rockwell’s typically stunning performance, and you have the perfect film to watch after watching all of Black Mirror . You can watch “Moon” on Pluto TV or rent it on Prime Video .
More movies like Black Mirror
If you haven’t completely sunk into depression yet, maybe you just need more movies that challenge technology and challenge your brain. We’ve got you covered—here are a few more films Black Mirror fans will love.
The Lobster (2015)
From the delightfully demented Yorgos Lanthimos (and co-writer Efthymis Filippou), the synopsis for The Lobster sounds like a summary of an episode of Black Mirror : After his wife leaves him, a man named David (Colin Farrell) has 45 days to find a new romantic partner or be transformed into an animal of his choosing. David knows exactly how this works because his own brother, Bob, accompanies him in his new form as a dog. Believe it or not, things get even weirder (and much, much more violent) from there. It certainly feels like an episode of Black Mirror , exploring the social constructs surrounding relationships and dating. Rent The Lobster on Prime Video .
Vivarium (2019)
A young couple (Jesse Eisenberg and Imogen Poots) arrive at a housing complex called Yonder, where all the houses are eerily similar, and find themselves trapped—no matter how hard they try, their attempts to escape always lead them back to “their” house. Soon, they are ordered to raise a male child to gain release. It’s a sci-fi/horror hybrid, as dark and terrifying as any episode of Black Mirror , and it shares the show’s general aversion to happy endings. Watch “Vivarium” on Kanopy or rent it on Prime Video .
The One I Love (2014)
If your favorite Black Mirror episodes are the ones that explore modern relationships through the dark lens of sci-fi technology (like season four’s “Hang DJ”), watch “The One I Love .” A struggling couple (Elisabeth Moss and Mark Duplass) travels to a remote estate to try to reconnect and discovers that their doppelgangers are living in the guest house. Initially, the doppelgangers are better partners than their original counterparts, and the couple tries to establish “rules” that allow them to spend time with their doppelgangers, but of course, a darker twist lurks beneath the surface. Watch “The One I Love” on Kanopy or rent it on Prime Video .
Swan Song (2021)
Black Mirror often explores existential questions about the true nature of the connections between us—for example, in the episode “Come Back,” when a young woman, played by Hayley Atwell, brings back her deceased boyfriend in the form of an artificially intelligent android that uses videos and social media posts to restore his personality. “Swan Song” explores similar themes, but from a different perspective: when Cameron (Mahershala Ali) is diagnosed with a terminal illness, he is offered the opportunity to have a clone take his place, sparing his family the grief of his death. It’s a kinder, gentler story than Black Mirror typically offers, but no less heartbreaking. Watch “Swan Song” on Apple TV .
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
There’s perhaps no film plot more reminiscent of Black Mirror —a service that erases bad memories, with all the unforeseen consequences that entails (echoing the “grain” technique featured in episodes of the series like “The Entire History”). When Joel (Jim Carrey) learns that his ex-girlfriend, Clementine (Kate Winslet), has erased her memories of him, he decides to do the same. But during the procedure and in a dream, viewing memories of her, he changes his mind and attempts to “hide” Clementine in his other memories, leading to some truly gripping and stunning scenes shot by Michel Gondry. Watch Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind on Prime Video .