Netflix‘Bête Noire’ is one of the best episodes in Black Mirror Season 7, and as well as being a cautionary tale of bullying and gaslighting, it also puts a dark spin on one of Adam Sandler’s most beloved movies.
Black Mirror Season 7 has now dropped on Netflix, meaning you can now watch all six episodes, and check out our detailed explainers for ‘Common People,’ ‘Hotel Reverie,’ ‘Plaything,’ ‘Eulogy,’ and ‘USS Callister: Into Infinity.’
You can also read our Season 7 review, check out Dexerto’s list of the best Easter eggs, and find out why Black Mirror fans should watch 1990s horror classic The Faculty.
But Episode 2 was a clear highlight this season, so as well as writing a ‘Bête Noire’ explainer, we’ve also had fun connecting the story to an old Adam Sandler movie. Read on to find out what that is, though beware of SPOILERS ahead…
Bête Noire is a twisted remake of Adam Sandler’s Click
NetflixBlack Mirror Season 7 episode ‘Bête Noire’ is the dark and twisted version of Adam Sandler’s 2006 box office smash Click.
In that film, Sandler’s Michael Newman buys a magical universal remote, which allows him to control reality. He starts off having fun with it in work and at home, and loving the results. But Newman then uses it to skip past bigger and bigger amounts of time, resulting in him missing important life events, and losing connection with his wife and kids.
‘Bête Noire’ takes a very different approach to a similar story. Verity is the antagonist, and towards the end of the episode, we learn that she has invented a remote than can also “change reality.” But rather than employing it to avoid illness or arguments, she uses it to confuse and antagonise her former school bully Maria, while endeavouring to send her mad.
NetflixIt’s worked on a previous victim, driving her to suicide. And by changing the world around Maria so she always looks like the villain, it’s having much the same effect here. Though rather than kill herself, Maria confronts Verity, learns that the controller never made her happy, then shoots her in the head.
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Click goes in a very different direction. Things do get pretty hairy for Michael, with the character’s wife leaving him, and Newman missing his father’s death and falling ill himself, meaning the remote makes him sad too. But this is a film about a busy dad learning to make time for his family, so ultimately, none of what happened is real, and the controller was simply a device to teach Michael Newman a lesson.
The finales could not be more contrasting either, although they start out essentially the same, with both Michael and Maria having the remote in the respective possessions at the end. But where Michael throws his in the trash to spend more time with his loved ones, Maria does the polar opposite, using the remote to turn herself into Empress of the Universe. Although those climaxes are opposed, from a certain angle, they can both be seen as happy endings.
Click is available to stream/rent/purchase pretty much everywhere, while Black Mirror Season 7 is now on Netflix. For more on the show, here’s why Severance fans should watch this specific episode, plus news of Black Mirror sending TCKR Systems’ Nubbin to influencers on TikTok.