"Await Further Instructions" is a chilling psychological horror film about how British people suck

Just watched this on Tubi. Reddit hated it, which is proof it's good.

After a period of estrangement, a man named Nick visits his conservative family for the holidays, bringing along his Indian doctor gf Anji. At home we meet the frosty, taciturn father; the warm but clueless mother; the deeply insecure r-slur sister and her deeply insecure r-slur boyfriend; and the half-senile grandpa who mocks everyone while throwing around racial invective.

Overnight, the house is inexplicably sealed off from the world by a black metallic membrane covering all doors and windows. Despite the bizarre situation, Nick's father quickly convinces himself that this is being done by "the authorities" for their own good because of a virus and/or terror attack. The dad appoints himself their leader and enforces a series of progressively stranger orders which are transmitted via text on the television. Paranoia builds, and those who question the orders face increasing retaliation from the entity and the rest of the family, which eventually grows violent.

For this movie to work correctly, you need to accept early-on that all characters and events are part of a heightened reality. Everyone's kind of a caricature because they depict what things feel like, not exactly what they are. Most especially, the dad is a grotesque parody of the "stiff upper lip" British masculine ideal, seemingly calm, rational, and unflappable--yet following increasingly nonsensical and vile commands in service of the "authorities." His performance is a highlight of the film, and a good illustration of the Bong desire to lick boot.

It can be hard to capture what exactly makes a horror movie scary, but I found the whole movie extremely tense in the best way. Despite the exaggeration of certain characters, the presentation itself has enough restraint to keep you immersed in the situation. You're a normal person trapped in a house with a bunch of bong NPCs, and they're starting to suspect you. The violence is never grotesque but always uncomfortable, and when special effects at last come into play they manage to feel like a surreal nightmare instead of a blobby CGI climax. Through it all there's a sense of actual threat. The best comparison I can make is that it's like if Skinamarink was like an actual movie with dialogue and actors and stuff, instead of a 5-minute student film inflated to 90 boring minutes.

Now, here's what I've been dancing around:

It's an extremely on-the-nose parody of the Covid pandemic despite coming out in 2018.

( Predictive programming?)

• The characters are suddenly locked in their home by an "authority" and unable to leave

• Orders are transmitted in the language of quarantine, contamination, etc.

• Orders are increasingly authoritarian and hostile

• Characters are told that objects around them may be contaminated

• Characters are sent "trial vaccination kits" and ordered to take them

• The only character with medical training says not to take the vaccines as they do not know what is in them (and the needles are dirty). The sister is worried the vaccine will hurt her unborn baby

• The dad forces everyone else to take the jabs anyway.

• Immediately after taking the vaccine, one character starts coughing up black bile and dies

• After a moment of confusion the father says that it would have happened to ALL of them if they weren't vaccinated ( it's too blatant)

• The characters are ordered to "isolate" Anji, locking her in a room alone because she had a little cough earlier

• The sister later needs urgent medical attention, but the father insists no one even TRY to leave.

• As the situation worsens, people die because of violence, lack of medical care, and quarantine protocols, while whatever they are being "protected" from never actually shows up.

• The dad refuses to look at Nick's video proof of the entity responsible because it is on his phone, instead of airing on television from the "authorities"

• In general, even seemingly normal characters prioritize "quarantine" orders from a faceless outside entity over love for their own family, while punishing those who disagree.

• Eventually the TV turns into a giant wire monster that puppeteers the dad's fresh corpse around the house (I don't think this has happened yet but check back on /r/zerocovidcommunity in a couple months).