Less striking as it’s predecessor and the first episode to falter slightly at the new series’s extended running time, Playtest has the smarts and the style but doesn’t quite match the series’ best.
When a backpacker called Cooper (Wyatt Russell) finds himself short of cash in London, he agrees to take part in a brand new gaming experience that will test the very limits of his fears.
Written by Charlie Brooker himself and directed by Dan Trachtenberg (10 Cloverfield Lane) Playtest has the advantage of twisting its genre leanings slightly more towards the horror end of the spectrum than previous instalments. The VR device is a nifty, if barely original, idea but it’s the creeping sense of terror in the episode that works the best.
The ‘haunted house’ setting is littered with classic imagery, from flickering lights and creaking floorboards, there’s a great construction to this fake world within in a world and it’s a nice visual change to Nosedive.
Where the episode falls down, however, is nearer the end as we begin to question everything we see and hear. Like the stereotypical dream episode, we’re never sure of what’s real and what’s not, which comes close to becoming tiresome.
Thankfully, the episode is held up by a great central performance and a nice supporting turn from Wunmi Mosaku as Katie, who speaks to Cooper through the device in his ear.
With great visuals and style, Playtest is a good episode of BLACK MIRRORÂ that, for me, works less well because the ‘twist’ is a tad rote. The comparisons to dystopian classic Brazil are inevitable but there’s still a great sense of a separate identity to this episode.
Thankfully with this show, no two episodes are the same and Playtest, despite it’s lesser quality, remains individual.
Verdict
