One of the best sci-fi series to emerge from Netflix's original content plethora is Black Mirror. The British anthology series is known for its shock-factor episodes centered around ethics and technology of the present and future. From the writer's room to the familiar and unfamiliar actors onscreen, Black Mirror has earned much-deserving critical acclaim.
We all love the well-executed sci-fi movie from Annihilation to Ex Machina and everything in between, but there are some stories that sound so good that turn out so bad. These films lead with an intriguing premise or futuristic vision and fall short in the execution. With a little help from the magic-makers behind the Netflix hit, we believe these films would have succeeded as a singular episode in the Black Mirror universe.
Updated on April 28, 2023, by Hannah Saab:
Black Mirror season 6 premieres this June, according to a teaser trailer that has revitalized interest in the anthology series. It's the perfect time to explore more poorly executed sci-fi movies with great premises that could inspire future Black Mirror episodes.
10 'In Time' (2011)
A movie that once again proves a star-studded cast isn't always enough to save a poor script, In Time provided movie-goers with a unique premise that ultimately bogged down in execution. Set in a dystopian future where people stop aging at 25, time has become an exchangeable currency that like all things money causes a bit of trouble for the film's protagonist Will (Justin Timberlake). Co-starring Amanda Seyfried, Cillian Murphy, Olivia Wilde, and Matt Bomer, In Time failed to prove its worth with critics and viewers despite premiering the same year as Black Mirror.
Using time as a physically exchangeable good would be an interesting ethical dilemma about the power of technology and greed. These themes were present in In Time, but didn't yield an original take on or visceral reaction to the concept like many Black Mirror premises do. As technology continues to advance, revisiting this movie as inspiration for a structured episode would be intriguing for sci-fi fans alike.
9 'Transcendence' (2014)
A sci-fi thriller with an A-list cast, Transcendence revolves around Dr. Will Caster (Johnny Depp), an expert on artificial intelligence who's known for scandalous experiments. A threat to his life only pushes his goals forward, and soon the protagonist's thirst for knowledge and control takes his AI experiments to a whole new level.
With great cinematography and a cast of talented actors (including Morgan Freeman, Kate Mara, and Cillian Murphy), viewers and critics alike had high hopes for Transcendence. It ultimately became a critical disappointment, as its muddled plot made it seem as if the story itself was written with an unclear vision. The dangers of obsession and AI would fit right into Black Mirror's world, though, and perhaps would give Transcendence's premise another shot at proper execution.
8 'Don't Worry Darling' (2022)
A psychological thriller directed by Olivia Wilde, Don't Worry Darling generated a lot of buzz with its intriguing setting and impressive cast. Taking place in a picture-perfect 1950s suburban company, the film revolves around Alice and Jack Chambers (Florence Pugh and Harry Styles), a young couple trying to fit in with the community. As the husbands of the town leave every day for work, the wives make sure their homes are spotless and enjoy various luxuries. Soon, cracks begin to appear that hint at a darkness beneath suburbia.
Despite a powerful performance from Florence Pugh, it's hard to ignore the film's underwhelming and ludicrous plot twist, and the way it ruins an already mediocre story. While it's impossible to discuss this twist without spoiling the movie, its surprising focus on dystopian technology and commentary on societal issues qualify the film's premise as a potential entry in the Black Mirror universe.
7 'Lockout' (2012)
A movie about humanitarian efforts gone wrong in a futuristic space prison, Lockout was no sci-fi treasure. The Guy Pearce and Maggie Grace-led thriller left viewers feeling their own sort of imprisonment in films of sci-fi past as Lockout incorporated elements from the films that came before it.
Where Black Mirror surpasses other science fiction series is in its ability to mess with our minds over the course of a singular episode. Imagine this Netflix-driven machine outputting an episode about the psychological effects of a space prison. The writer's room is more than capable of posing an ethical dilemma to viewers about banishing (perhaps wrongly accused) criminals to space.
6 'Downsizing' (2017)
In the not-too-distant future, scientists have found a way to drastically reduce humans' carbon footprint using a process called "downsizing." They literally shrink people to small sizes to live in small communities, with the promise of unbelievable riches and new ways of having fun. When Paul Safranek (Matt Damon) and his wife Audrey (Kristen Wiig) finally decide to take the (tiny) leap, things don't go exactly as planned.
Downsizing had an entertaining first chapter, which introduced the engaging premise in a promising way. It soon fell apart and became disjointed after an unnecessary doomsday clock and a half-baked message about the environment are thrown in. That said, the movie's fictional invention is perfect for Black Mirror, which could explore all sorts of twisted ways corporations could exploit technology like that.
5 'Spiderhead' (2022)
Directed by Joseph Kosinski, Spiderhead is a sci-fi thriller centered on experiments conducted in a seemingly luxurious prison. In charge of these experiments is Steve Abnesti (Chris Hemsworth), a charming yet manipulative scientist who dictates which and how much of the mind-altering drugs will be administered to participants. One of the inmates who's part of the project, Jeff (Miles Teller), begins to suspect that everything isn't quite as it seems.
Spiderhead's promising premise was wasted by its lackluster execution, which never reached the potential of how twisted and disturbing the film could have been. A lack of focus and unnecessary subplots left critics and audiences feeling underwhelmed. Its prison setting, mind-warping drugs, and sinister corporate exploitation would create a fantastic Black Mirror episode, though.
4 'Rubikon' (2022)
A unique take on the stuck-on-a-ship trope in sci-fi movies, Rubikon depicts a crew in a space station who witness an apocalyptic catastrophe on earth in the form of a toxic fog. When they find out that there are survivors, they argue about whether they should rescue them or stay and survive while improving the ship's algae tech.
Its stunning visuals and unique premise couldn't save the film from its poor execution, as the lack of tension is obvious throughout the movie. The stakes are high, but it doesn't seem that way. Maybe Black Mirror could have done something better with its "algae symbiosis system," an invention that can save humanity from environmental collapse, but is shrouded in bureaucratic secrecy and corporate greed.
3 'The Happening' (2008)
Not M. Night Shyamalan's worst work, but certainly not his best, The Happening is a mind-bender that fell just short of its potential. Following a series of unexplainable deaths and more spreading fast across the country, a school teacher and his wife try to evade the unseen killer. Despite big-name leads like Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel, and John Leguizamo, critics and fans were not impressed.
Where fans love Black Mirror's ferocity is in its ability to throw a good twist and wait until the very last few minutes of screen time to do so, The Happening falls short. With a guest-directing cue from Shyamalan and a concise runtime, ecological warfare sounds like a dystopian episode right up the Black Mirror alley.
2 'Countdown' (2019)
More so horror than traditional science-fiction, Countdown revolves around a protagonist who downloads a seemingly harmless app that "predicts" when the user will die. A divisive film where audiences saw more pleasure in the story than critics, this tech-horror is a match made in Black Mirror heaven.
The basic premise of the entire series explores the fragility of human life and how technology hinders humanity. Where the horror element was too supernatural in Countdown, Black Mirror would turn the "villain" into a government or corporate conspiracy about population control or data privacy.
1 'Demonic' (2021)
Oscar-nominated District 9 director Neill Blomkamp failed to produce another sci-fi masterpiece. Demonic follows a young woman who seeks out her deceased mother's consciousness in an artificial reality program called The Simulation only to lose her hold on reality as hallucinations begin, slowly becoming real. A supernatural horror and science-fiction piece, Demonic's muddy storytelling turned away viewers.
Many Black Mirror episodes toy with the concept of consciousness and artificial intelligence, demonstrating what goes terribly wrong when the two merge. Following the rollercoaster of success with District 9, middle-of-the-road with Elysium, and downward spiral with Chappie, Blomkamp's sci-fi mind would better have served as a guest on Black Mirror with a hair-raising episode centered around the premise of Demonic.
NEXT:The Best 'Black Mirror' Episodes, Ranked According to IMDb
