Electric Dreams; The Black Lake

“Craftily and artfully adapted by Matthew Graham, The Hood Maker asks questions not just about state surveillance, prejudice, civil liberties and human rights, but also about technology, power and knowledge, trust, democracy, even evolution. It’s a bleak, suffocating vision that left me not only worried, but craving light and air, simplicity, nature and the past. The Hood Maker is terrific, thoughtful, thought-provoking and compelling.”
Sam Wollaston, The Guardian

“If Electric Dreams was intended to fill Channel 4’s Black Mirror-shaped hole, on this evidence there’s much hole still to fill. Maybe it’s just me. I’m no Dick expert, but it seemed dated and I found it hard to care much about anyone or the manufacture of the thought-blocking hoods.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“This was a parable about surveillance and the incursions of the all-seeing state, which is never not a hot-button topic. But Philip K Dick died in 1982 so his pensées about the future are necessarily passé. This adaptation didn’t have quite enough resonant things to say about the here and now, which should always be task number two in sci-fi’s job description.”
Jasper Rees, The Telegraph

“It was a classic Dick dystopia, but the British accents and rundown tower blocks grounded it in a very recognisable world. There was a slight sense of overfamiliarity – the story of Ross’s lugubrious detective, lost in a moral maze as he tried to reconcile the demands of the job with a ‘forbidden’ love was an ideal appetiser for the Blade Runner sequel. But if subsequent episodes don’t stick so closely to a ‘past glories’ template, the quality on display could make this one of the autumn’s must-sees.”
Jeff Robson, The i

“While the final twist proved satisfying, it highlighted the flaw with short stories – when good, you want them to carry on.”
Matt Baylis, Daily Express

“If you were expecting Scandi noir – you know, mood, metaphor and morality, authenticity, characters you grow to feel you actually know – then you’ll be disappointed. If, on the other hand, you’re OK with a fright – a buildup of tension and things that go bump in the night, in an abandoned ski resort – then it is fabulous.”
Sam Wollaston, The Guardian

“At times it was so comically hammy I wondered if it was really a homage to Scooby-Doo. This doesn’t stop it being a good wheeze, a reassuringly cheesy romp through a pick and mix of horror cliché with the added bonus of some lovely shots of the snowy landscape.”
Carol Midgley, The Times