Director: James Watkins
Writer: William Bridges (Screenplay) Charlie Brooker (Story)
Starring: Alex Lawther, Jerome Flynn, Susannah Doyle, Frankie Wilson, Jimmy Roye-Dunne, Hanna Steele
Plot: When withdrawn Kenny (Alex Lawther) stumbles headlong into an online trap, he is quickly forced into an uneasy alliance with shifty Hector (Jerome Flynn) – both at the mercy of persons unknown.
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Much Better Version of Nerve
Story: Shut Up and Dance starts as we meet quiet young man Kenny (Lawther) who just gets through the days minding his own business and his job. When Kenny decides to pleasure himself he finds himself caught in an online trap being forced to follow instructions or his video will be made public.
Kenny following the instruction ends up with a fellow victim Hector (Flynn) as the two must work together to complete the tasks to be made free of the people holding their darkest secrets.
Shut Up and Dance is very similar to the film Nerve which came out this year (2016) where people get tasks to complete from someone they don’t know. This does take it to the next level as it is pushed into blackmail territory which does work as these people all have secrets they don’t want loved ones to know. We get to see a string of secrets which all works really well because we learn that the person next to us on the street might not be the person we think they are. I think the final twist in this story is what makes this stand out.
Overall: Edge of the seat episode makes you wonder just what will happen next.
Rating
