Yes, Black Mirror: Bandersnatch Is an "Interactive" Movie — Here's How It Works

Described as a "morally-compromising adventure" by Netflix, the film follows programmer Stefan in the '80s as he attempts to create a best-selling, text-based computer game inspired by a "choose your own adventure"-style novel given to him as a child. The book was originally written by a deranged artist who murdered his wife, so you can expect things to get dark, as only Black Mirror can.

As Stefan descends deeper and deeper into the world of Bandersnatch — in case you were wondering, "bandersnatch" is a fictional quick-moving creature first mentioned in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass — the young programmer starts to experiment with pills, which alter his perspective of reality in drastic, dangerous ways.

The actor you'll most likely recognise is Will Poulter (The Maze Runner, We're the Millers, The Little Stranger), who plays Stefan's coprogrammer, Colin. Stefan himself is played by Fionn Whitehead, of Dunkirk fame. Rounding out the rest of the cast is Line of Duty's Craig Parkinson as Peter, Prevenge's Alice Lowe as Dr. Haynes, and People Just Do Nothing star Asim Chaudhry as Tucker.

First thing's first: if you're watching on an Apple TV or some smart TVs, there's a chance the interactivity function won't work. But it does work on iOS and other devices (so, worst case, I guess you can watch it on your phone, aka the original "black mirror"). As you venture through the story with Stefan, two options will occasionally pop up on the screen for you to choose between. Once you've decided, the film will smoothly continue, without pausing or fading to black (which is actually pretty cool, and helps make Bandersnatch feel as much like a true film — rather than a game — as possible).

If you find yourself struggling to make a decision — you only get so long, so you can run out of time — Bandersnatch will end up choosing for you at random. But be warned: once you make a choice, that's it; you can't rewind to pick the other option. However, you'll discover that a few do-overs here and there are available, and there's always the choice to start the entire film over again to wipe your slate clean.

According to Black Mirror executive producers Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones, who sat down with Variety to discuss this groundbreaking film style, there are five possible endings to the movie in total. You can finish it in as fast as 40 minutes or as long as 90 minutes, depending on which decisions you make. Good luck!