The British horror flick “Await Further Instructions” (2018) builds up a creepy “What’s going on?” vibe as a dysfunctional family and their significant others find themselves trapped in their house by black metal shutters on Christmas Eve. Their only connection with the outside world is their TV screen, giving them instructions.
Eventually winding its way into the picture is Eighties-style sci-fi calling to mind Carpenter and Cronenberg. One could even describe “Await Further Instructions” as “2001” on a shoestring budget, the themes get so sweepingly big by the end.
As always with “What’s going on?” films, the answers will either clinch the film’s likability or turn off the viewer. As M. Night Shyamalan and Jordan Peele have learned, this is a dangerous subgenre to work in, because viewers have imaginations just like the filmmakers do. It’s hard to out-imagine the viewer when you’re limited by images and sound.
“Await Further Instructions” (2018)
Director: Johnny Kevorkian
Writer: Gavin Williams
Stars: Sam Gittins, Neerja Naik, Abigail Cruttenden
A well-ordered family
Director Johnny Kevorkian and writer Gavin Williams give it the ole college try. Step one is smoothly achieved: Establish distinct characters, some of them likable. Black-sheep son Nick (Sam Gittins) visits his folks for the holiday, encouraged by girlfriend Annji (Neerja Naik). She doesn’t believe Nick’s dad Tony (Grant Masters) can be as bad as Nick claims.
The group of seven is rounded out by keeping-it-together mom Beth (Abigail Cruttenden), the racist-but-hey-he’s-old Granddad (David Bradley), dim-and-reactionary daughter Kate (Holly Weston), and Kate’s pliable husband Scott (Kris Saddler).
Via Tony, “Await Further Instructions” explores the “Just Following Orders” type of personality; the kind who not only assumes the best from authority but also wants to be told what to do. Making Tony less one-note, Williams peppers hints about his abusive upbringing into the narrative.
After these messages …
As we’re intrigued by this messed-up family, new instructions appear on the TV screen. Some of them particularly resonate in the wake of the COVID-19 era, when a lot of political arguments were about whether its right to follow government orders or not. Adding an extra wrinkle, these people don’t even know if it is the government giving these instructions.
A viewer can assume it’s not, because there’s no propaganda with it; it’s raw context-free instructions. I wondered if perhaps it’s an experiment, especially when Beth gives her last name (a wink at knowledgeable audiences) when desperately screaming at the TV set for help.
Ultimately, we do learn what’s going on; rest assured this isn’t one of those films where you supply your own answers. This is where the film firmly becomes sci-fi – and somewhat cheesy, although it does borrow from the masters with special effects that are either old-school stop-motion or appear to be.
I could list dozens of SF films “Await Further Instructions” cribs from, but I’d be tiptoeing into spoiler territory. You’ll either like or dislike the final act, but I suspect the intriguing mystery and family drama of the first two acts will carry most viewers to that point.
