Await Further Instructions is like the ultimate VHS board game from Hell. I promise to drop the VHS board game analogy as soon as it begins. Why? Well, I’m making fun of how it was marketed to us. If anything, it’s my new favorite British Christmas movie. Imagine Love, Actually if it involved Walder Frey being racist and possibly getting tortured along with his family.
Borrowing a similar vibe from the upcoming Escape Room, one has to wonder what in the zeitgeist is pushing these kinds of movies. Are we that scared of being trapped in confined spaces with our friends and families? The idea that we can overcome political and social differences is being turned into the kind of terror that would make Rod Serling stiff. Well, stiffer than the rigor mortis that already plagues the Twilight Zone emcee.
I appreciate that the film runs short. So many confuse length with quality. If you want to achieve a proper sense of terror, establish the world and set the stakes before the end of Reel 2. It’s not a tall order, but the film manages to hit that point and more. I would go into greater detail, but those last 20 minutes need to be experienced fresh. I do love it when a film surprises me like this, so I wholeheartedly recommend checking this one out.
Await Further Instructions opens on October 5th!
