The horror movie Choose or Die missed a golden opportunity to use a Netflix feature that was seemingly made for the film. A British horror movie directed by Toby Meakins in his feature directorial debut, Choose or Die follows Kayla, a college student, who starts playing an obscure video game from the 1980s in the hopes of winning a $100,000 prize. Choose or Die stars Iola Evans as Kayla, alongside Asa Butterfield and horror movie legend Robert Englund.
Choose or Die's premise revolves entirely around the fictional video game CURS>R, which is based on the text-based adventure games of the ZX Spectrum. While the idea of a killer video game may not be entirely original, using an older game - even a fictional one - is an excellent way to blend nostalgia with horror. Through this Choose or Die manages to enact the trend other recently successful horror shows and movies have used, such as It, It Chapter Two, and Stranger Things, all of which incorporate the 1980s into their stories.
However, while its premise may vaguely evoke the success of Netflix's Stranger Things, Choose or Die missed an opportunity to make use of a feature of the platform that would have been perfect for the horror film. Choose or Die's title implies an element of choice, and Netflix has made strides in its experimentation with interactive stories in recent years that sets it apart from other streamers. This technology could have played with the movies films to make Choose or Die an interactive horror film and the decision not to capitalize on the opportunity appears to be a huge oversight on Netflix's part.
Netflix's interactive media has so far met with mixed success. Bear Grylls' survival series, You vs. Wild, was a moderate hit, and the dystopian sci-fi anthology series Black Mirror also got the interactive treatment with Black Mirror: Bandersnatch. Though the interactive media may not so far have proved as successful as Netflix would have hoped, Choose or Die would have been the perfect opportunity to showcase its capabilities.
As the film's name implies an element of choice, Choose or Die lends itself well to an interactive story from a marketing point of view. However, even beyond this, its story could have worked perfectly within the format, especially considering the nature of the game at the center of the film's narrative. As Kayla playing the game is what forms the basis of Choose or Die's plot, making the film interactive would have been a way to continue this trend in a perfectly meta fashion and could have made its horror elements feel more real to the viewer.
Though Netflix has many excellent horror movies and shows, it has yet to fully incorporate its interactive movies into the genre. With its horror premise centered on video games, Choose or Die presented a perfect opportunity to do so, both in a narrative and thematic sense. Had Netflix opted to make use of the organic link between Choose or Die and their interactive technology, they could have lent the perfect horror movie trick to the film.
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