5 Movies That Could've Been Black Mirror Episodes

For fans of the hit sci-fi/dystopian show Black Mirror, the wait between each season can be almost as unbearable as being forced to listen to the same song for years.

Fortunately, there are plenty of movies out there with a similar feel to the show. Some of them are an obvious fit, and others would be a good fit, with a couple of changes.

This 2016 movie centers around an online game where people accept dares from strangers for money, and film themselves doing it. Vee, a reserved high school senior, decides to start playing in an attempt to come out of her shell.

The dares start off innocently enough, (kiss a stranger, try on a dress, etc.), but quickly escalate into life-or-death stunts. (Like riding a motorcycle blindfolded at 60 miles per hour.) Nerve is a thrilling movie in it's own right, but it also offers a sharp (if a bit preachy) criticism of mob mentality, and the downsides to anonymity on the internet.

If this sounds familiar, that's because it is. On the surface, the plot feels similar to Black Mirror's season 3 episode, Shut up and Dance, but it goes in a different enough direction that fans wouldn't feel like the show was running out of ideas.

There are certain places, though, where Nerve fails to reach the standards of Black Mirror. There's a side-plot about the dark web that seems a bit much. There's a love story that gets a little too much focus and gets wrapped up a little too neatly.

But most importantly, the movie tries to have it both ways by giving the audience a happy ending, (thus sparing the characters from the realistic consequences of their own actions), while still trying to stay true to its themes.

With a tighter script and some bolder writing, this movie could've fit right in with the rest of Black Mirror.