Editorials
Netflix’s “Black Mirror” Season 6: Ranking All 5 Brand New Episodes
After several years of waiting, Black Mirror finally returned with its eagerly anticipated sixth season. Charlie Brooker’s anthology series has reflected on contemporary society’s complicated relationship with technology since 2011. Interestingly, though, three of the five episodes in this installment occur somewhere in the past, be it distant or nearby. And even more intriguing, not every entry this time around is bent on delivering techno-dystopian dread. In fact, multiple tales are devoid of terror brought on by our overreliance on gadgets, science, and artifice.
Black Mirror was previously concerned with the immediate present or the conceivable future. However, based on this season’s episodes, the creator has perhaps grown weary of the “now.” The world that Brooker envisioned — not to mention warned us about — has, in some ways, come to fruition. These past couple of years, reality has proven to be more unsettling than whatever Black Mirror can cook up.
This latest Black Mirror season turned out to be a real jumble. It starts off in expected territory before promptly detouring. It’s definitely not the most cohesive season so far, yet Season 6 offers a healthy amount of variety as well as a few genuine surprises.
Read on for Bloody Disgusting’s Black Mirror Season 6 ranking.
5. Mazey Day
Set in the early 2000s, “Mazey Day” remembers the days of celebrities being hounded by paparazzi. Brooker naturally adds a sinister element to an already uncomfortable phenomenon, and the end result gives new meaning to the phrase “feeding frenzy.” The initial predators in this story are indeed Zazie Beetz’s character and her fellow photojournalists, but things change when they all bite off more than they can chew.
Black Mirror viewers will wait for but never find the science element in “Mazey Day.” Without spoiling the bizarre ending, this episode sidesteps the series’ standard motif and serves up something more tangibly horrific. Had this entry been a part of another genre anthology, particularly something like American Horror Stories, maybe it would have been less out of place and also better received.
4. Demon 79
The season finale is the first (and, hopefully, not last) episode to be released under the “Red Mirror” label. This experiment in genre removes the typical dangerous-science theme altogether. The shift in genre notwithstanding, the series’ trademark weirdness remains intact as a department store clerk is handed a bizarre task; Anjana Vasan’s character must sacrifice three people in order to prevent the apocalypse. And guiding the skeptical protagonist on her dark, world-saving mission is a novice demon (Paapa Essiedu) who only she can see.
In “Demon 79,” the series shakes off its sci-fi confines and jumps somewhere into the horror arena. Sad to say, this high-concept story is carried out too simply for a show like Black Mirror. From the distracting, Death Note-esque guide to the predictable outcome, “Demon 79” is as uninspired as its faux ‘70s aesthetic. Brooker shouldn’t be discouraged from adding to the “Red Mirror” label, but future horror ventures would benefit from more demanding stories and executions.
3. Joan is Awful
While Season 6’s goofy opener might seem like Black Mirror biting the hand that feeds it, this increasingly hilarious episode doesn’t quite leave enough teeth marks. Sure, “Joan is Awful” takes a prominent swipe at Netflix by introducing Streamberry, a recurring analog for the streaming giant. However, with Netflix evidently in on the gag — the streamer going so far as to lend its own interface and signature “tudum” sound — “Joan is Awful” only delivers half-effective commentary about A.I., data collection, and deepfake technology.
Annie Murphy and the show-stealing Salma Hayek are well cast in this cautionary tale that feels even more punctual now that real-life screenwriters are fighting for better treatment and pay. “Joan is Awful” openly points out the prevalent trends that are endangering the entertainment industry without also getting too cross with its obvious target. And compared to what all followed the season premiere, this episode is rather optimistic. That in itself is strange in the world of Black Mirror.
2. Beyond the Sea
The third episode is set in a retrofuturistic version of 1969 where America is studying the impact of space on humans. Josh Hartnett and Aaron Paul’s characters are this important mission’s guinea pigs who manage to stay in contact with their loved ones on Earth via artificial replicas. Eventually, a personal tragedy back home triggers something disturbing inside one of the two astronauts.
“Beyond the Sea” is the only feature-length episode here, and its slow-burn pacing may turn off impatient viewers. Of all the stories in Season Six, though, this one uses its technological component to flesh out the characters and study their relationships. The startling ending won’t please everyone, but it is guaranteed to stay with you.
1. Loch Henry
The sinister science aspect is also absent from “Loch Henry,” but even so, this episode doesn’t steer off course as much as, say, “Mazey Day.” Streamberry returns in a much smaller capacity than before, although Brooker deems the platform and others like it a symptom of a bigger problem. In a bid to make money and gain exposure, the two young filmmakers (Samuel Blenkin and Myha’la Herrold) here set out to make a true-crime documentary about an old case. Just when they think they’ve found everything they can about these crimes, they dig up something both new and shocking.
By now, the true-crime wave has experienced more than its fair share of criticism, so Black Mirror’s own takedown is belated. And to some, maybe even unnecessary. The episode’s commentary about exploitation and profiting off of personal trauma is nothing new, however, the story’s twists and turns are what make “Loch Henry” so memorable. It leaves on a sad and sobering note like a lot of other episodes, yet it also gives you a real case of the creeps.
Black Mirror Season 6 is now streaming on Netflix.
The creators of internet icons that go on to inspire collaborative online fiction tend not to have much control over their creations once they leave the proverbial nest. From Victor Surge’s Slender Man to the anonymous user who first posted that Backrooms image with the accompanying text, once the internet hive mind takes over, artists are usually forced to sit back and watch as their stories take on a life of their own.
One exception to this rule is horror artist and creature designer Trevor Henderson. Back in 2018, Henderson introduced the world to an enigmatic figure named Siren Head and gave the online horror community their last great mascot. However, while the immensely popular creature made several unofficial (and sometimes unwanted) appearances in games, videos, and plenty of fan-art, Henderson miraculously managed to keep creative control over his monster even as it became a worldwide sensation.
With the success of Kane Parsons’ Backrooms film encouraging Hollywood to scour the internet for more online horror properties with an existing fanbase that might be enticed to show up to theaters, it makes sense that both Trevor and his digital offspring would be next in line for a big screen adaptation.
However, while Siren Head became a massive hit among the younger crowd who were in search of an online horror icon to call their own, much like my generation did with Slender Man, there are plenty of genre fans who aren’t familiar with the story behind this peculiar creature. That’s why I’d like to invite readers to join me as I dive into the origins of a beloved internet monster with more cinematic potential than you might initially believe.
Trevor Henderson’s Viral Horror Universe
To understand Siren Head, you first have to understand Trevor Henderson’s spooky body of work. A Canadian artist with a passion for coming up with online cryptids, Trevor went by the moniker of Slimyswampghost and would occasionally post photorealistic artwork on both Twitter and Tumblr as part of the internet tradition of sharing “cursed images” on social media. These found-footage-influenced digital paintings would often be accompanied by brief snippets of text contextualizing them within the artist’s larger universe of bizarre entities.
In August of 2018, Trevor posted several creepy creations that would end up becoming fan-favorites (from the 1930s-animation-inspired Creepy Cat to my personal favorite, Long Horse), though none of these could compete with the popularity of Siren Head. A tall, slender figure that camouflaged itself among telephone poles on isolated roadsides, this humanoid monster was inspired by the mysterious number stations phenomenon (real-life cryptic radio broadcasts that repeat coded numbers ad infinitum).
In his original post, Trevor included the following text alongside the picture:
She was on vacation with her husband, and they were scoping out graveyards on the way, as you do, when she saw it. Rising out of the old cemetery, big as an old (macabre) telephone pole. Was this some kind of bizarre art piece the authorities hadn’t gotten wise to yet? Even as she stepped out of the car, the megaphones on its “head” screeched to life. “NINE. EIGHTEEN. ONE. CHILD. SEVENTEEN. REMOVE. VILE“. A buzzing, doubled voice screamed random words at her. At this point, it jerked into motion, striding down the hill towards her.
And just like that, a new horror icon was born.
However, the creature didn’t become an overnight sensation like some other popular internet legends. It was only about six months later that Modus Interactive contacted Trevor asking for permission to include the monster in his contribution to that year’s Haunted PS1 Halloween Game Jam. The ensuing free-to-play title was a moderate hit, but Siren Head would lay dormant for a while after its release as Trevor continued to focus on other projects.
How Siren Head Went Viral
Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and short-form video content took over the internet. In April of 2020, Tiktokker and VFX artist Alex Howard created an eerily believable video of Siren Head towering over a cityscape, with this viral hit catapulting the character to mainstream recognition as genre fans raced to find out more about the enigmatic creature.
Suddenly, Siren Head was everywhere. Memes, toys, short film adaptations and even more videogame appearances led to the character occupying the same place that Slender Man had once held in popular culture. The only difference was that fans continued to refer to Henderson for more “official” lore about the monster, with the artist encouraging fan-made work but continuing to expand the mythology surrounding the character (which has since been revealed to be the physical manifestation of an Eldritch entity that preys on humankind).
Henderson even went so far as to discourage the character’s inclusion in the SCP Archives, as this would give Siren Head a Creative Commons license and allow bad actors to take advantage of the creature’s popularity. Not only that, but giving fans too much creative control over the monster would have inevitably lead to what some genre enthusiasts, such as Kane Parsons, refer to as “lore creep”: the overaccumulation of fictional information regarding a horror property that ultimately makes the story less scary.
While we’re past the peak of Siren Head’s online popularity, the character still holds a special place in genre fans’ hearts as an icon representing a particular moment in internet history. That’s why even horror titans like Junji Ito have expressed their love for the monster, and also why it makes sense for Hollywood to finally get off their butts and get around to adapting the creature to the big screen – especially since the monster’s success has led to Henderson developing a career in the horror genre (with several freaky projects ranging from Young Adult Horror novels to Bloody FM’s own Mayfair Watchers Society Podcast).
With the cinematic dream-team of both Zach Cregger and Brian Duffield joining forces in order to steer Trevor’s ideas towards box office gold, I think it’s safe to say that Siren Head is about to get the big-screen adaptation the fans deserve, and I know I’ll be there on opening night!
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