History Film / BlackMirrorBandersnatch

Starring Fionn Whitehead and Will Poulter.

The trailer, released only the day before the film, can be found [[https://youtube.com/watch?v=XM0xWpBYlNM here]].

* ArcSymbol: The lambda (λ) symbol from White Bear makes a reappearance, this time used in a different context. In this case, the symbol represents branching alternate realities created by differing choices.
** It appears throughout the episode, like in blood on the walls of a room in a picture in the book about Jerome F. Davies, and on the wall of Stefan's house, where it’s formed by the shape of the windows.

* BreakingTheFourthWall: [[spoiler:Depending on the path you take, if you try and make Stefan destroy his computer, he'll fight back, and demand to know who's controlling him... which you can choose to be ''yourself'' if you choose "Netflix".]]

** The gaming company is called Tuckersoft, a combination of TCKR Systems from San Junipero and Microsoft.
** The Saint Juniper Hospital, where Dr. Haynes works, to Black Museum.

** A couple to "[[Recap/BlackMirrorSanJunipero San Junipero]]": Dr. Haynes's office is in a medical building named "Saint Juniper", and the company featured in this episode, Tuckersoft, alludes to the company that created the simulation[[note]]TCKR, represented as a bar called "Tucker's" in San Junipero[[/note]].

* MediumAwareness: Throughout the story, Stefan notices certain actions that the viewer makes on his behalf. [[spoiler: He even begins to defy actions that would otherwise derail the story.]]

* PetTheDog: If Stefan tells his dad [[spoiler:that he's being controlled by someone from the future]], he immediately asks if he should call Dr. Haynes (much to Stefan's relief).

* NoExportForYou: In the days before the film came out, but its page was visible on Netflix, some users were confused that they saw a runtime of 2 minutes rather than 90. When it was released this was revealed: if you are trying to watch an interactive episode on a Smart TV that isn’t the latest version (even if the Netflix app has been updated) it instead plays an informational video telling you to switch to another device so that the features will work.

* ArcWords: "Pac". Colin claims the "PAC" in ''VideoGame/PacMan'' is an acronym for "Program and Control", which later ties into [[TrumanShowPlot a later storyline]] where [[spoiler:Colin uncovers evidence that he is a participant in a "Program and Control Study" (PACS)]]. This reflects the film's themes of control and free will.

** When [[spoiler:Colin's therapist asks if he should be more entertaining if he is in a TV show]], the choice that appears is either "Yes" or "Fuck yeah", which lead to the same outcome.

* MetaFiction: Unavoidable, given that the film is a {{Mind Screw}}-y ChooseYourOwnAdventure story centering about a programmer trying to create a ChooseYourOwnAdventure game. Colin begins to have crises about alternate timelines and the illusion of free will.
* MindScrew: The existence of alternate timelines, how one traverses through them, and what is ''really'' true about Colin's life, isn't wholly explained nor clarified in any of the paths.
* MissingMom: Colin's still reeling from the death of his mother in his childhood, which he believes he caused.
* ThePasswordIsAlwaysSwordfish: Colin will have an opportunity to open his father's safe, and the password is always a three-letter word relevant to the route at hand.
* ProsceniumReveal: PlayedForDrama in one ending, where [[spoiler:Colin, in the middle of confronting his therapist, goes "off-script" and turns out to have been filming a show for Netflix.]]

** A couple to "[[Recap/BlackMirrorSanJunipero San Junipero]]": Dr. Haynes's office is in a medical building named "Saint Juniper", and the company featured in this episode, Tuckersoft, alludes to the company that created the simulation.
** In the endings where [[spoiler:Stefan is arrested for murdering his father]], other news stories shown include the creation of "[[Recap/BlackMirrorHangTheDJ a futuristic love machine]]" by [[Recap/BlackMirrorBeRightBack BRB software]][[note]]"Be Right Back" abbreviated as a company named BRB was previously used in an allusion from ''Recap/BlackMirrorBlackMuseum''[[/note]], the release of a new installment of ''[[Recap/BlackMirrorUSSCallister Space Fleet]]'', and [[Recap/BlackMirrorFifteenMillionMerits a 15-Million talent team appearing]] on the show "Hot Shots".

* HistoryRepeats: One ending has this theme. Stefan himself is following in the footsteps of Jerome F. Davies; both are creating works titled Bandersnatch which feature branching story paths and parallel realities, and both slowly go mad in the process. [[spoiler: Both end up murdering someone important to them - Davies his wife, and Stefan if the viewer goes through with the option of killing his dad.]] The path then ends in the present day, where a [[spoiler: Colin's daughter Pearl, now a Netflix programmer, is attempting to adapt Stefan's game into an interactive film and begins experiencing the same hallucinations as Stefan and Davies]].

* MetaFiction: Unavoidable, given that the film is a ChooseYourOwnAdventure story centering about a programmer trying to create a ChooseYourOwnAdventure game. Colin begins to have crises about alternate timelines and the illusion of free will.

* ProsceniumReveal: PlayedForDrama in one ending, where [[spoiler:Colin, in the middle of confronting his therapist, turns out to have been filming a show for Netflix.]]

"A young programmer makes a fantasy novel into a game. Soon, reality and virtual world are mixed and start to create confusion."

** When [[spoiler:Colin's therapist asks if he should be more entertaining if he is in a TV show]], the choice that appears is either "Yes" or "Fuck yeah".

* FreezeFrameBonus: Other allusions to previous episodes.

** In the endings where [[spoiler:Stefan is arrested for murdering his father]], other news stories shown include the creation of "[[Recap/BlackMirrorHangTheDJ a futuristic love machine]]" by [[Recap/BlackMirrorBeRightBack BRB software]][[note]]"Be Right Back" abbreviated as a company named BRB was previously used in an allusion from ''Recap/BlackMirrorBlackMuseum''[[/note]], a new installment of ''[[Recap/BlackMirrorUSSCallister Space Fleet]]'' is coming out, and [[Recap/BlackMirrorFifteenMillionMerits a 15-Million talent team coming out]] on the show "Hot Shots".

** To the Matrix. In one story branch, Stefan is offered a drug, the drug in this case [[spoiler: allows him to perceive a higher level of reality]]. The Matrix also shares references to Alice in Wonderland and a character who in one scenario [[spoiler: discovers that they are part of a mind-bending conspiracy]].

* [[TheEighties The '80s]]: Set in 1984, complete with characters wearing huge glasses, video games with 8-bit graphics and an electronic soundtrack.

* ContinuityNod: The film has references to past episodes, like Metalhead, Nosedive and White Bear. The film itself was referenced in the episode Playtest.

* HistoryRepeats: One ending has this theme. Stefan himself is following in the footsteps of Jerome F. Davies; both are creating works titled Bandersnatch which feature branching story paths and parallel realities, and both slowly go mad in the process. [[spoiler: Both end up murdering someone important to them - Davies his wife, and Stefan if the viewer goes through with the option of killing his dad.]] The path then ends in the present day, where a [[spoiler: Netflix programmer is attempting to adapt Stefan's game into an interactive film and begins experiencing the same hallucinations as Stefan and Davies]].

* ButThouMust: Certain choices often lead to the same result, no matter which option you choose. One example is when Colin offers Stefan a blotter strip for a psychedelic drug. If you pick "Yes," Stefan takes the drug and the scene of Stefan's drug trip proceeds; if you choose "No," Colin puts the strip in Stefan's coffee, which he drinks and the same scene follows. This plays into the episode's theme of the illusion of free will; that there are forces beyond our control making our choices for us.

** To the Matrix. In one story branch, Stefan is offered a drug, the drug in this case [[spoiler: allows him to perceive a higher level of reality]]. The Matrix also shares references to Alice in Wonderland.

* ContinuityNod: the film has references to past episodes, like Metalhead and White Bear. The film itself was referenced in the episode Playtest.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d28766d8_98bc_4668_86be_73f0db18f002.jpeg]]

Starring Creator/FionnWhitehead and Creator/WillPoulter.

* ContinuityNod: the film has references to past episodes, like Metalhead and White Bear. The film itself was referenced in the episode Playtest.

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