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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Winthrop chapter.

If you are anything like me, Collegiettes, it can be pretty tough to sit through a movie without being tempted to scroll through Instagram, fall asleep, or even just cut the movie off and begin watching something else.

*Especially* if it’s not a classic like Pretty Woman or The Notebook. Luckily for us women who just can’t hang with the average movie, Netflix has released a film that will keep us on our toes. So what makes Black Mirror: Bandersnatch so awesome? 

You literally control the movie. 

Whaaaaaaaat? Yes, ladies, Black Mirror: Bandersnatch is an interactive movie in which the viewer is constantly making the decisions. They can be as simple as choosing what the main character eats for breakfast or as serious as committing murder. Throughout the movie, choices will pop up on screen and you have 10 seconds to make a decision before the movie makes it for you. There is no time to get distracted when watching this movie – it really keeps your eyes glued to the screen. I’m not gonna lie – I had to restart the movie after missing the first decision, but after that, I was on top of the game. 

There are multiple outcomes.

This movie is practically several movies in one. While the plot remains the same, the decisions you make can result in several different endings. If you don’t like the ending the first time you watch it, watch it again! There around seven completely different outcomes to this movie. You can watch it over and over without getting bored of it. THAT is genius. 

I absolutely loved this movie, and I think it is HOT, HOT, HOT. However, nothing is perfect. There are a few negatives about this movie that some of us may not like. So, here goes: 

It can be confusing. 

After watching the movie, I literally said to myself, “What just happened?” I didn’t realize that the movie was over, and I actually think that one of my decisions cut the movie short. That’s part of the beauty of the movie, but it can also leave you feeling somewhat unclear. The movie is intriguing overall, but because there are so many different endings to the movie, the one you end up with might just leave you *bamboozled*. 

Sometimes the movie disregards your decision. 

This is probably one of the most confusing aspects of the movie. I’m not going to spoil the movie for everyone and say what the decision was about, buuuuut, there was one decision that the movie basically made me make when watching. When choosing against something in a decision, the movie eventually re-winded itself and made me remake my decision. This only happened once, maybe twice, but it does kind of defeat the purpose of the decision. Or maybe the movie just wanted to show the negative consequences of my decision before it re-winded itself to remake the decision. Who knows? Maybe you will interpret this aspect differently. 

Overall, I give Netflix’s Black Mirror: Bandersnatch an 8/10.

I watched the movie all the way through without any distractions. And for me, that’s hard to do. I have never watched, or been a part of, anything like it. Netflix might be on to something with this new interactive movie genre. It can be hard to fully wrap your head around all the concepts of this movie, but it’s truly a thriller… and so much fun to watch with friends & family! 

 

Chastity Jones

Winthrop '20

Chastity is a Corporate Finance student at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, SC. While she's building her career as a business professional, she loves to cook, bake, read, and paint in her free time. Her obessions include, but are certainly not limited to - Jesus; her Yorkie pup, Max; Christmas; One Tree Hill; and holiday decorations. You can follow her on Instagram @chas.jones :)
Winthrop University is a small, liberal arts college in Rock Hill, SC.Â