Warning: This review contains spoilers forBlack Mirrorseason 6, episode 2, “Loch Henry.”
After a shaky premiere episode,Black Mirroris back in fine form with the second installment of season 6, “Loch Henry.” When a film student and his girlfriend stop by his mother’s house in the Scottish countryside on the way to a documentary shoot, they end up sticking around to instead make a movie about the infamous murders that turned a tourist hotspot into a ghost town. At first, they have a great time investigating the case and editing the footage together. But, before too long, the fun stops as they come across shocking revelations about the murders that rock their world.
“Loch Henry” is an absorbing thriller full of unpredictable twists and turns. Samuel Blenkin andBodies Bodies Bodies’ Myha’la Herrold lead the episode with great performances as aspiring documentarian Davis and his free-spirited girlfriend Pia, respectively. Within a couple of scenes, Blenkin and Herrold round out their characters as lovable, three-dimensional figures. By the time Davis and Pia are exploring the boarded-up murder house, the audience is so endeared to them that they’re dreading the fate they might meet. Daniel Portman, best known asGame of Thrones’ Podrick Payne, brings some much-needed comic relief to the proceedings as Davis’ childhood friend Stuart. John Hannah – recently seen as Dr. Newman inthe ominous prologue to HBO’sThe Last of Us– brings an intriguing air of mystery to the pub landlord who always suspected there was more to the Loch Henry murders than the police thought.
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Unlike the previous episode, “Joan is Awful,” which vaguely satirized the oversaturated streaming market, the chosen satirical topic of “Loch Henry” is clear. It tackles the obsession with true-crime documentaries and the psychological toll exacted by sensationalizing criminals and exploiting real murders for entertainment. People involved in real-life crime stories are left traumatized by the events, but audiences enjoytrue-crime documentariesbecause there’s a feeling of comfort from watching those events unfold from the safety of the other side of the screen. The filmmakers walk a fine line between spectator and participant as they dig up evidence and explore blood-soaked crime scenes. “Loch Henry” blurs that line even further as the filmmakers’ shocking discoveries draw them closer and closer to the case.
The Spectacle Of Murder
Davis is originally planning to make a documentary about a man who collects rare eggs, but Pia points out that it will only be seen and appreciated by a small handful of arthouse critics on the festival circuit, whereas the Loch Henry murders present the chance to tell a story that “people actually want to see.” Therein lies the point of the episode. It would be great if streaming services and movie theaters could be filled with nice documentaries about egg collectors. But the audience has spoken and they’re nowhere near as interested in those stories as they are in serial killers and their grisly murders. And producers like Netflix (or, in theBlack Mirroruniverse, Streamberry) are happy to keep providingsensationalist murder docs, regardless of the devastating impact they might have on the communities they represent.
The episode builds to a deeply disturbing twist that, like all the best plot twists, is impossible to see coming before it’s revealed and seems completely obvious and inevitable after it’s revealed. All the clues are there from the beginning, but it’s difficult to piece them together until Pia watches aBergeractape past the end credits and sees the salacious snuff film hiding in there. Monica Dolan does a fantastic job of lulling the audience into trusting Janet as Davis’ kind-hearted, worrisome mother who’s constantly trying to help people and fix problems, and an equally fantastic job of playing the sadistic, psychopathic side that she masks with that friendly facade.
Black Mirror Doesn’t Need A Gimmicky Hook – Just A Great Story
Series creatorCharlie Brooker, writing with a steadier hand here than in “Joan is Awful,” explores the themes at hand beautifully. As a mainstay of the TV industry, Brooker can write about the business of television with real authority. When a concerned local asks why Davis is dragging up the horrific events of the Loch Henry murders, he makes an off-hand remark about winning an award. Brooker pays off this remark spectacularly at the end of the episode when Davis wins a BAFTA Award for the doc that destroyed his life. The frightful final scene shows the emptiness of winning an award for a true-crime documentary compared to the trauma created by the events depicted in the doc. After the awards ceremony, when he’s left the red carpet behind, Davis is left with a little figurine of a mask as well as the grief of losing his girlfriend and the very troubling news that both of his parents were in cahoots with a notorious murderer.
Like allthe bestBlack Mirrorepisodes, “Loch Henry” has both a timely message about a contemporary issue and a great story that would still be captivating without the social commentary.I May Destroy Youdirector Sam Miller keeps viewers on the edge of their seats with palpable tension and a cast of lovable characters willfully throwing themselves into dangerous situations. “Loch Henry” is proof thatBlack Mirrordoesn’t need futuristic worldbuilding or a gimmicky hook to captivate audiences – it just needs a darn good story.
