Movie Review: Await Further Instructions
A movie that starts off as a tense family thriller and quickly goes off the rails.
*Spoilers for Await Further Instructions (2018)
Directed by Johnny Kevorkian, also known for The Disappeared (2008, which I admit I have not seen), came back ten years later with Await Further Instructions, a thriller horror film that I went into completely blind. This movie’s description is perfectly vague in a way that lets you know things are going to go sideways but doesn’t clue you in as to how crazy things are really going to get.
A family's Christmas takes a strange turn when they awake to find themselves trapped inside and begin receiving mysterious instructions through the television. (IMDb)
So… what happened?
We are first introduced to Nick Milgrim (Sam Gittins) and Annji (Neerja Naik) who are visiting Nick’s family for Christmas. It seems very tense, as we learn Nick hasn’t been home in three years, but Annji is supportive and looking forward to meeting everyone. Beth (Abigail Cruttenden), Nick’s mom, opens the door and seems very sweet and welcoming. His father, Tony (Grant Masters), is upstairs in his study while Grandad (David Bradley of Harry Potter and Game of Thrones fame) is watching tv in the den. The news is filled with reporting on tragedies and threats of terrorism, which sets the scene for many of the family conflicts that are on their way. Arriving late and rounding out our cast are Nick’s sister Kate (Holly Weston) and her husband Scott (Kris Saddler), who have a baby on the way.
Right off the bat there is family drama — Tony is a controlling force in the house and 100% the reason Nick hasn’t been home in years, and his sister is unabashedly racist towards Annji over board games and when they start talking about the news it all goes downhill. Grandad is overtly racist and sexist and says one too many things and Nick and Annji plan on sneaking out early Christmas morning to go eat takeout and watch Doctor Who. Which, honestly, sounds like a fantastic day. When they reach the door, however, they find it blocked by what seems to be solid metal and they quickly discover that every opening is blocked off and they are trapped inside.
The tv at this point shows the words "Stay Indoors and Await Further Instructions."
Thus begins the true horror — what this family does to itself.
Tony immediately suspects that there has been a terrorist attack and that this is an act of the government to protect them from some unknown threat. He takes control of the situation in a sudden and domineering fashion, enlisting Scott in his plans and being very clear about his disdain for and mistrust in Nick. He says they should sit down for dinner and pretend as though it is a normal Christmas; a fight breaks out just as they are about to eat when Grandad makes lewd comments about Annji and Nick defends her, and his sister just adds to the pile on. Tony attempts to carve the turkey and the message changes: “Eat nothing, the food is contaminated.”
The messages get progressively worse and the family devolves quickly; they are given open syringes and told to take an experimental vaccine and Grandad has an adverse reaction and violently dies. Tony, clearly in shock, yells at his corpse for emotionally abusing him growing up and then turns his rage onto his son claiming that this is simply one of the costs of war. His willingness to believe the messages on the tv disturbs Nick and Annji, who already did not feel safe in the home, and his assumption that they are now at war is only reinforced by the increasingly dangerous and sadistic messages the family receives.
The television tells them to isolate one of them who has become contaminated, without specifying who it is. The family immediately assumes Annji, as she has had a cold since arriving, and locks her away with the body of Grandad. Scott is a violent hothead who flies into rages throughout the movie and in one critical moment he is beating Nick up and Kate is shouting her support. She gets too close and is thrown over the side of the bannister, falling to the first floor and suffering a compound fracture in her leg. Mind you, at this point Scott is missing most of his hand because he tried to stick his hand through a slot in the door, so he’s clearly not in the best headspace. He’s also a dick, so there’s that.
With this tragic turn, the tone of the house shifts. Tony locks himself in his study, clearly having a mental breakdown, and Scott completely freezes and is unable to help his wife. Nick and his mother try to help Kate but are sadly unsuccessful and she dies of sepsis. The tv tells them that there is a traitor among them and Tony tortures his son without second thought. Annji begins investigating the room she’s trapped in and finds a wire-creature in the television that triggers a toxic gas to be released in all the upstairs rooms. Scott saves Annji but his mother is trapped in the bathroom and dies.
Hiding in the living room, the remaining survivors are instructed to sacrifice someone to save the unborn baby inside of Kate, which is miraculously still alive. Tony tries to kill Annji and tries to get Scott to help him, but he has lost the trust of everyone in the room and Scott only gets in his way. It’s the first good thing he’s done the entire movie. Tony kills him with an axe and continues to try to kill Annji and Nick, despite the fact that he’s already fulfilled the television’s instructions, and Nick kills him in self defense. Nick then destroys the television, revealing our big baddie.
So, a tentacle-wire-television monster has infected their television and wants them to worship it, and when they refuse it possesses the father and kills them both. This possession gives us the cover of the movie, which I didn’t realize was a spoiler until now. The monster then destroys Kate’s body, revealing the baby and asking for it to worship it.
Fin and cut to black.
Thoughts?
I had no expectations going into this movie and they all would have turned out to be wrong anyway, so definitely keep that in mind if you’re looking to watch it. It was a great and very tense thriller for most of the runtime, completely losing that thread once the monster makes its grand reveal. The last twenty minutes are a wild ride and I honestly laughed out loud when they possessed the father and dragged his body around the room like a puppet.
The commentary I read about the most with this was that it was a critique of our dependence on technology and media, and fake news and all that. I don’t fully agree with this. For much of the movie, I saw a critique of having unquestioning trust in authority. Tony, the father, believes wholeheartedly that what he is doing is right while he is actually tearing his family apart because of his refusal to think critically about their situation. He is told there is a threat and that they are at war, by an authority he can’t even see, and he believes it without question. Nick and Annji are the only two who try to question what is going on and who is giving them these mysterious and destructive instructions, realizing that the instructions are increasing in insanity and reactive to what the family is doing.
All in all, I liked this movie. It was uncomfortable to watch, as I can see this kind of familial destruction playing out even without the sadistic alien invasion angle, and I even grew to care about some of the characters. Realizing it was one of those movies that no one survives was disappointing but it didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the film. What did change my rating from a 5 to a 4 was the ending — it just wasn’t very good. The creature was sadly laughable once revealed, and when it tried to make the baby worship it by showing it written text (newsflash: babies can’t read or even understand speech just after birth) I lost all hope that the ending was going to be satisfying. I will give it bonus points for the visual at the end of the neighborhood, where we learn that this was not the only home destroyed and that the world had officially ended. All hail our television monster overlords.
Technical Quality
The set was contained, which you know I love, and the effects were pretty good up until the creature reveal. The gore was done well and not too disgusting, which I appreciate, and I thought the camera work was creative enough to keep it interesting.
Just the Vibes
While it wasn’t an uplifting movie, it did make you feel things. Namely frustration, as characters reacted to their situation by lashing out at those around them and building off of tensions that were clear from the get-go.
Things I enjoyed this week:
While the weather dropped to the 40s again, which I think is just rude, I did get a cute new skirt that I was able to break out. I love adding little touches of goth into my wardrobe in a way that is still work-appropriate but that allows me to be creative. I got to eat some Kung Po Chicken, my Chinese takeout food of choice, and some cheese-filled naan that I would honestly kill for. I added a few shows to my watchlist too, which I’m excited to get into. There’s a documentary on Netflix right now called Fantastic Fungi, The Principles of Pleasure, and Metallica: Some Kind of Monster. Should be a fun weekend!
Ciao ✌️
Lauren