Await Further Instructions

A thriller with a decent Twilight Zone-like premise but uninspired follow-through, Await Further Instructions finds a British family—the Milgrams—full of pathological crossfire between generations (as well as between siblings, significant others, husbands and wives, etc.) gathering for a miserable Christmas holiday. Estranged son Nick (Sam Gittins) shows up after being away for several years, accompanied by his British-Indian girlfriend (Neerja Naik), a medical student. Her brown skin sets off racist invective that only escalates this crowd’s overall cruelty and dysfunction. Ready to split early from the madness, Nick discovers that the Milgrams’ house is mysteriously sealed inside some sort of impenetrable black metal container that appeared overnight. Phones and online access are blocked, leaving the panicking Milgrams without information or assistance—except via cryptic instructions that appear on a television screen. Director Johnny Kevorkian keeps things moving at an edge-of-your-seat clip, piling horror atop horror, and his cast proves adept at peeling away the characters’ layers of rage, barbarity, and grievance to reveal a stultifying fear within. But it’s the resolution of the core dilemma—who encased the house and why—that ultimately lacks inspiration (and perhaps logic). Still, this weird drama should be considered a strong optional purchase. (T. Keogh)