Await Further Instructions (2018)

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1. 

   ikkegoemikke

   I don’t think the messages are a government broadcast.
   It’s almost like they’re reacting to what we do.
   
   
   
   Initially, I would immediately add “Await further instructions” to the list of “useless movies that only ensure that you don’t start running into the walls out of boredom”. But on the other hand, this low-budget indie-SF was fascinating and amusing enough in my opinion. Not because of the story, because that was completely absurd and contained a denouement that didn’t make any sense at all. But because of the wonderful acting and the way this dysfunctional family reacted during Christmas, the most joyful festive period of the year. A period in which families usually come together to have fun and also to carry on a family tradition. It’s the period of the year when people bury an old family feud and sit down at the table to catch up while enjoying a drink and some food. There are countless films that show that this isn’t always the case. Like in “Krampus” and “Better watch out“. Even the McCallisters in “Home Alone” experienced this period as a time full of misery. Maybe not so macabre, but exciting enough. And in “Await further instructions” there isn’t a cozy Christmas mood as well. And certainly not when the Milgram’s house is wrapped as a Christmas present.
   
   And not only the last mentioned fact ensures it’s not too cozy at the Milgram house. The mutual relationships also ensure that the tension remains high. Apparently, it’s years ago Nick (Sam Gittins) showed up at his parent’s place. And when he decides to pay them a visit, he turns up with his Indian girlfriend Annji (Neerja Naik) at his side. I suppose Nick knows all too well how some members of his family will react and he already feels there will be problems the moment he parks in front of his parental home. First of all, there’s the emotionless, authoritarian sounding father Tony (Grant Masters) who can hardly accept that he hasn’t heard anything from his son for years. The authoritarian tone is cynically dismissed by grandfather Alfred (David Bradley) who can’t resist telling Tony he’s way too tolerant. And worse. Alfred is a purebred racist who makes derogatory remarks about foreigners constantly.
   
   Furthermore, you’ll meet the good-hearted mother Beth (Abigail Cruttenden). She’s a typical housemother who, despite the tense atmosphere and knowing that Christmas dinner will be a disaster, remains exceptionally optimistic and tries to calm things down while singing Christmas carols. Something that’s totally unthinkable when sister Kate (Holly Weston) waltzes in with her friend Scott (Kris Saddler). Not that Kate is a pronounced racist, but her naive, ill-considered comments are still hurtful. Witnessing these interactions in itself made the film interesting. And when they realize the next day that the house is wrapped with steel tubes and the television spontaneously starts spewing messages, it’s the beginning of even more squabbling. As the film progresses, everyone is on the verge of becoming paranoid. The whole claustrophobic situation creates distrust and suspicious thoughts among the family members.
   
   As in most low-budget movie, the entire film takes place in one and the same location. That isn’t necessarily a disadvantage. “Await further instructions” shows in a solid way how hysteria and helplessness take control of people when they find themselves in a hopeless situation. Conspiracy theories and disaster scenarios ensure that family members are diametrically opposed. Is it an environmental disaster? A chemical war? Or are there extraterrestrials who have conquered the world? Or are they all victims of a television program with hidden cameras? Does the film end up with a symbolic image of the Big Brother principle? Or does it show how television has crept into our daily lives and we blindly follow the instructions that appear on it? Messages that cause the family members to turn against each other and shamelessly hurt each.
   
   On a psychological level, you can call this film a success. The SF section, which unfolds towards the end, I found less successful. That part felt rather absurd and grotesque. It seemed to me that the main part looked like a psychological family drama and the denouement was made up at the very last moment. As if it was meant to be satirical. And I wouldn’t call it a horror. All in all, I didn’t think this surreal spectacle was so bad. Especially because of the excellent acting and the sometimes magisterial footage. But I’m afraid this film won’t be appreciated by the vast majority of cinemagoers.
   
   More reviews here 5 years 5 months ago
2. 

   samoan

   Hmm, this movie is kind a annoying. First of all, you can't

   clean with bleach alone, if you were going to use it to clean, you would need to dilute it with lots of water just to be safe in making contact on your skin. Still not advised and you would need to clean it off immediately.

   Also other than being a giant asshole, why would the dad

   inject the "vaccine" without making sure the syringe and the spot of injection with a disinfectant like alcohol or boiling water. The others waited, but the dad was way over the top for no reason. Just an asshole to be honest.

   . I mean this family is serious messed up psychologically with the dad who is clearly an abusive person and the Step brother was just a bully that wanted to "impress" his really screwed up wife (main characters sister) that he was a man. Ugh not even 20 minutes in, I really don't like any of the characters but the main two (the Indian lady and the younger brother). But the story went too crazy too fast. The Stanford experiment went crazy off the rails because it was strangers given power over others as guards vs inmates. This was seriously just a supposedly loving family that was a bit racist. But went full aggressive crazy right away by the Dad and older brother. The premise was good, but I just feel it would have been more believable of escalating that fast if it was random strangers. I mean serious everyone but Nick and Anji are just way too psycho, to the point of unrealistically. Meanwhile the mom because just like nick, she probably was abused by the father. Who's father (the grandfather) clearly abused him. Movies where 90% of the cast is super unlikable makes it really hard to care about them much less want to see what happens to them. I really didn't care after 20 minutes if they all died or not. I really just wanted Nick and Anji to run away from that family as far as they can and never see them again.
   
   I mean seriously the part where the dad

   punches the son in the face, so hard he is bleeding and then starts to torture him and wants to take out his eye. Then Kate dies he doesn't care, just says it happens in war? WTF this type of dialogue and character doesn't make sense when it is a family. Also why does Kate go from injured to infected wounds to dead in like what seems like less than an hour? I mean if it was a few days I could buy it, but no one dies that fast unless they are bleeding out or internally, and she would have been dead long before that if that was the case. So not only are the characters to the extreme, but everything happens way too quickly to be believable.

   I really wanted to enjoy the movie and was hoping for a cool SF/Horror movie but instead got a boring, unbelievable (even with my disbelief stretched to the breaking point) and terrible written movie. The only thing that was good about the movie was Nick and Anji both were likeable characters and well acted. 2 years 6 months ago
3. 

   arrbrr

   wth 4 years 11 months ago

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