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Black Mirror
S3.E3
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IMDbPro

Shut Up and Dance

  • Episode aired Oct 21, 2016
  • TV-MATV-MA
  • 52m
IMDb RATING
8.4/10
50K
YOUR RATING
Alex Lawther in Black Mirror (2011)
DramaMysterySci-Fi
When withdrawn Kenny stumbles headlong into an online trap, he is quickly forced into an uneasy alliance with shifty Hector, both at the mercy of persons unknown.When withdrawn Kenny stumbles headlong into an online trap, he is quickly forced into an uneasy alliance with shifty Hector, both at the mercy of persons unknown.When withdrawn Kenny stumbles headlong into an online trap, he is quickly forced into an uneasy alliance with shifty Hector, both at the mercy of persons unknown.
IMDb RATING
8.4/10
50K
YOUR RATING
    • James Watkins
    • William Bridges
    • Charlie Brooker
  • Stars
    • Alex Lawther
    • Jerome Flynn
    • Susannah Doyle
    • James Watkins
    • William Bridges
    • Charlie Brooker
  • Stars
    • Alex Lawther
    • Jerome Flynn
    • Susannah Doyle
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 99User reviews
    • 34Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos11

    Jerome Flynn and Alex Lawther in Black Mirror (2011)
    Jerome Flynn and Alex Lawther in Black Mirror (2011)
    Jerome Flynn and Leanne Best in Black Mirror (2011)
    Leanne Best in Black Mirror (2011)
    Black Mirror (2011)
    Alex Lawther in Black Mirror (2011)
    Nicola Sloane and Alex Lawther in Black Mirror (2011)
    Jerome Flynn and Alex Lawther in Black Mirror (2011)
    Shut Up and Dance (2016)
    Alex Lawther in Black Mirror (2011)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Alex Lawther
    Alex Lawther
    • Kenny
    Jerome Flynn
    Jerome Flynn
    • Hector
    Susannah Doyle
    Susannah Doyle
    • Blackmailed Woman
    Frankie Wilson
    Frankie Wilson
    • Tom
    Jimmy Roye-Dunne
    • Red
    Hannah Steele
    Hannah Steele
    • Melissa
    Sarah Beck Mather
    Sarah Beck Mather
    • Restaurant Mother
    Beatrice Robertson-Jones
    • Restaurant Daughter
    Maya Gerber
    • Lindsay
    Camilla Power
    Camilla Power
    • Sandra
    Ivanno Jeremiah
    Ivanno Jeremiah
    • Moped Man
    Mariam Haque
    • Petrol Station Attendant
    Natasha Little
    Natasha Little
    • Karen
    Nicola Sloane
    Nicola Sloane
    • Bank Clerk
    Paul Bazely
    Paul Bazely
    • The Man in the Woods
    Leanne Best
    Leanne Best
    • Penny
      • James Watkins
      • William Bridges
      • Charlie Brooker
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      On Kenny (Alex Lawther)'s laptop appears a sticker of Waldo from season two, episode three.
    • Goofs
      In the opening scene, when the woman parks her Volvo wagon and leaves it, the car is neatly within the lines. When the two guys take it, the car is now parked over the line.
    • Quotes

      Kenny: [sobbing] They filmed me.

      Hector: Filmed you...

      Kenny: Through my computer camera.

      Hector: What, like, filmed you?

      Kenny: Yeah, like, you know, doing it.

      Hector: Like sex?

      Kenny: No. Like, you... you know.

      Hector: Jerking off. Jerking off to porn or something? Well, everyone does that. The fucking pope probably does that.

    • Connections
      Featured in WatchMojoUK: Top 10 Actors Who Have Appeared in Black Mirror (2018)
    • Soundtracks
      Exit Music (for a Film)
      Written by Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, Ed O'Brien, Colin Greenwood, Phil Selway

      Performed by Radiohead

    User reviews99

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    Uncomfortably powerful
    Unlike most, the episode "Shut Up and Dance" is not futuristic, but is based on existing technologies and their current abuses.

    An unknown person or group hacks computer cameras and catches people in compromising situations. Then uses these recordings to blackmail them. Several of these seemingly random victims have received obscure instructions on what, when, and where to do if they do not want their footage to leak to the public.

    The blackmailers' demands to the victims seem quite harmless in relation to the consequences if they do not fulfill them, but we see that only based on their reactions, while we do not really know what exactly they were blackmailed with. They depart each to his task, driven by panic fear of the publication of the images, which may seem irrationally excessive to us.

    The characters are ordinary people, totally inconspicuous and uninteresting, and the tasks themselves are quite banal and did not arouse my particular interest in the outcome, so I wondered why "Shut Up and Dance" has such a high rating on IMDb. A good idea of a perfect crime, where the actors are unknown and unrelated people, who don't even know what they're doing, so it's almost impossible to track them down, is spoiled by unimpressive characters and a pace that doesn't hold attention, but then these pieces of the puzzle begin to assemble into a broader picture and the tension begins to rise.

    When I finally figured out what it was about and my disappointment with the episode subsided, there was a final plot twist, which showed me that I hadn't figured anything out and that the real picture of this puzzle was much darker than I could have imagined. When the ending credits started, my wife and I sat for a while, silently glancing at each other with wtf expressions on our faces. The episode left us completely speechless. In the end, nothing was as it seemed and a day later I still don't know what to think.

    In technical terms, and even in acting, "Shut Up and Dance" is nothing spectacular, although Jerome Flynn, in one of the main roles, was a pleasant surprise to me. For the most part, the episode is not particularly atmospheric, and the tension is at a fairly low level for a thriller. But the impression that the final outcome left on me makes it perhaps the strongest episode so far. I can't recall the last time something has caused me this level of discomfort, which crawled into my bones and did not wane even later when the impressions settled.

    8,5/10.
    helpful•31
    1
    • Bored_Dragon
    • Sep 13, 2021

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 21, 2016 (United States)
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • Official Facebook
      • Official Netflix
      • English
    • Filming locations
      • Didcot, Oxfordshire, England, UK
    • Production companies
      • House Of Tomorrow
      • Zeppotron
      • Channel 4 Television Corporation
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 52 minutes
      • Color

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