David Slade is good at making dark material unsettling to look at, particularly on television. We recommend his tightly controlled suspense, while resisting the idea that keeping us uncomfortable is enough on its own.
Fi1m perspective
In Metalhead (2017), David Slade gives Black Mirror a stark black-and-white treatment. We were unsettled by the severity of those images, which give the eye little comfort. The episode makes a good case for him as a director of controlled unease, able to make a visual choice matter beyond its immediate appeal. We rate that precision, with a reservation about how much punishment a story needs before its point is clear.
Hard Candy (2005), his feature debut, established the contained psychological thriller as a useful home for him. He followed it with the horror of 30 Days of Night (2007) and the franchise assignment The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010). His earlier work in music videos and commercials helps account for his appetite for camera movement and visual invention. But the move towards television from 2011 is the turn that interests us more than the progression towards studio features. An episode gives a director with his particular strengths a defined stretch in which to build and sustain tension.
Our enthusiasm for Black Mirror rests on its straight-faced absurdity and on performances that make the distress matter. That is a judgement of the series, not a claim that Slade is responsible for everything it does well. He has directed several instalments, including the interactive Black Mirror: Bandersnatch (2018), where the format presents a different directing problem from Metalhead's visual restrictions. Our reservation about the programme remains relevant: it sometimes keeps tightening the screws after its point is clear, and technical assurance does not make the extra suffering necessary.
Hannibal (2013) also makes sense as a home for him: he directed its pilot and further episodes, helping to establish the programme's dark world. His work there gives us another reason to value him beyond a single striking image; he can establish a setting that sustains a series. His recurring collaboration with composer Brian Reitzell is also a reason not to give the director sole credit for the atmosphere of his work. Start with Metalhead if concentrated unease is what the evening needs.
Biography
David Aldrin Slade (born 26 September 1969) is an English film and television director. He began his career directing music videos and commercials before moving into features.
His feature films include Hard Candy (2005), 30 Days of Night (2007), The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010), Black Mirror: Bandersnatch (2018) and Dark Harvest (2023). He has also directed episodes of television series including Breaking Bad, Hannibal, American Gods and Black Mirror.
