Retro Gaming Might Be the Death of You in Trailer for Netflix’s Choose or Die

Gaming nostalgia is a fountain of cheap pathos that can never really be depleted, and if the first trailer for Netflix’s Choose or Die is any indication, it’s also fertile material for shlocky horror cinema. The British psychological horror thriller is the feature debut of director Toby Meakins, and is scheduled to hit Netflix in the U.S. on April 15, 2022.

Choose or Die, previously titled CURS>R, is a throwback digital horror flick, evocative on some levels of the early 2000s era of clumsy internet horror that brought us the likes of FeardotCom. However, this is an evolved take on such a digital horror concept, in which a lost relic of 1980s gaming proves to be capable of warping reality around it as it forces players into a game of life and death. We’re getting definite vibes of Black Mirror’s “Bandersnatch,” with a more subtle twist of the classic Polybius urban legend) of a supposedly sinister arcade cabinet.

Choose or Die stars former Hugo and Ender’s Game star Asa Butterfield, alongside Iola Evans, Eddie Marsan, Kate Fleetwood and apparently the legendary Robert Englund, who is playing … himself? As anyone who has ever seen Wes Craven’s New Nightmare can tell you, that’s always a good time. Check out the surprisingly wild and psychedelic trailer for Choose or Die below.