Await Further Instructions (3/5)

Await Further Instructions is now on Netflix in several countries. The British Sci-Fi Horror Mystery starts out really strong. Unfortunately, the last part of the story doesn’t match this. Still worth watching on Netflix!

Await Further Instructions is out on Netflix now and – despite its problems – it is worth watching. The first half of the movie is a fascinating story, which seems to be both a bit over the top and very realistic.

The movie is a horror, sci-fi, mystery hybrid, which works on so many levels for a long time. We have characters that act in sensible ways and enable us to relate to the experience, but even this doesn’t really last in the long run.

If you’ve watched the movie Compliance, then you’ll have an idea of what Await Further Instructions is all about.

Stereotypes that actually exist

In Await Further Instructions, we join a family as they celebrate Christmas in England. The family is very “stiff upper lip” and would prefer if everyone was white and agreed with them on everything.

Well, this goes mostly for the dad and granddad of the house. The mom is more laid back and just wants everyone to get along.

The daughter is very pregnant and has a nice white boyfriend who is more brawn than brain, so he does as he’s told. By anyone really. She clearly enjoys the power of being the “good child” in terms of having made the right choice of partner.

The son, Nick (Sam Gittins) brings home his girlfriend, Annji (Neerja Naik), for the first time. She’s smart, kind, beautiful and a doctor, but she’s also from India, so (of course!) this isn’t really enough to win over the family.

Again, the mom is trying to be welcoming, but the racist comments from everyone else just fly across the dinner table in the form of jokes and “no offense” comments. Both Sam Gittins and – especially – Neerja Naik give wonderful performances as the two most likable characters in this story!

What would you do?

As mentioned earlier, the story as a whole is along the lines of the movie Compliance, which was very well done – and is based on a true story. What happens is that the family becomes quarantined inside their house and receive instructions via the TV in their living room.

The instructions start out relatively simple but become increasingly strange. The goal is clearly to get the family to single out one person at the time. This part is still a fascinating experience and the actors all do excellent jobs. 

In fact, the actors work really well from the beginning until the very end. It’s just that the story loses me somewhere along the line. I don’t know what I expected but it was simply very anticlimactic for me.

The cast includes David Bradley who you’ll probably recognize from Harry Potter, Game of Thrones or The Strain. Yes, he’s been part of some huge successes. Also, he was in The Lodgers which came out on Netflix recently. In Await Further Instructions, he’s the grandad and says the most appalling things!

Watch Await Further Instructions on Netflix

Johnny Kevorkian directed this movie, which was his first in ten years since he did The Disappeared which starred Harry Treadaway (Penny Dreadful and Mr. Mercedes). The script for this horror, sci-fi, mystery was written by Gavin Williams.

In the past, Gavin Williams has written a lot of short films as well as one TV movie. I feel like some outside input or a rewrite of the ending would have made for a much better overall movie, but I do like his overall style!

I’ve been wanting to watch Await Further Instructions for a while, so its release on Netflix is heaven-sent.

To me, everything in Await Further Instructions feels both like heavy satire and all too real at the same time. It’s very well done. I loved everything about Await Further Instruction throughout the entire first part of the movie! 

But… the ending really was a letdown and I feel I should warn you about this. I don’t want to spoil it for you and maybe you’ll like it. I just didn’t feel that it matched the awesome setup of the beginning.

Await Further Instructions is out on Netflix in the US and Canada from February 2, 2019.

Details

Director: Johnny Kevorkian
Writer: Gavin Williams
Stars: Sam Gittins, Neerja Naik, Abigail Cruttenden, David Bradley, Grant Masters, Holly Weston, Kris Saddler

Plot

A family’s tense reunion turns terrifying when they get trapped in their home by an unknown force, and sinister commands begin appearing on their TV.