Await Further Instructions(2018)
2018 · Johnny Kevorkian · 91 min
A dysfunctional family awake on Christmas morning to discover they’re sealed inside their house by a mysterious black substance. On television, a single line of text reads: “Stay Indoors and Await Further Instructions.”
Horror
5.4312 votes
TMDB score
4/5
Intensity
4/5
Gore
3/5
Stays with you
How Await Further Instructions scares
Await Further Instructions starts as a tense, cramped family drama on Christmas morning and slowly turns into something much nastier as the walls close in, literally and emotionally. Most of the fear comes from watching old grudges and paranoia boil over while everyone is trapped together with no way out, so the dread builds through arguments and suspicion rather than jump scares. Once the situation breaks down, it gets bloody and physical fast, mixing body horror with sharp, dark humor about family and control. It's a good pick if you like horror that sneaks up on you through tension and family dysfunction before turning genuinely gross and upsetting.
On The Horror Database's 0–5 scare profile, Await Further Instructions rates psychological 4/5, visceral 4/5, gore 4/5, lingering effect 3/5, and overall intensity 4/5.
- Psychological: 4 of 5
- Visceral: 4 of 5
- Gore: 4 of 5
- Lingering: 3 of 5
- Intensity: 4 of 5
Slow burn vs Jump scares: 25 of 100 — leans Slow burn
Supernatural vs Real-world: 30 of 100 — leans Supernatural
Fun-scary vs Disturbing: 65 of 100 — leans Disturbing
Intensity over runtime
Shape only — no eventsReveal pacing shapeHide pacing shapeHidden by default — shows where the tension peaks and lets up.
A tense family drama that slowly tightens the screws before exploding into a relentless, chaotic back half.
Intensity across the runtime, 0 to 100: 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 4.
How scary is Await Further Instructions?
On The Horror Database's 0–5 intensity scale, Await Further Instructions rates 4/5 — one of the more punishing watches in the catalog, building its fear through slow-burn dread rather than shocks. It works on both fronts, unsettling the mind while going for the body. Expect it to be heavy on gore and genuinely disturbing. Some of it will follow you to bed, but it lets go within a day or so.
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