Is Black Mirror: Loch Henry based on a true story?

Home to episodes like Beyond The Sea, Mazey Day and Joan Is Awful, there's one episode that's slightly closer to home that has struck a chord with many viewers - Loch Henry.

Framed around young documentary-making couple Pia (Myha’la Herrold) and Davis (Samuel Blenkin), Davis brings Pia to his hometown of Loch Henry to meet his mother Janet (Monica Dolan). They're on their way to make a nature documentary but Pia soon gets caught up with the fascinating story of Iain Adair, the mysterious farmer who tortured and killed people unbeknownst to the small town.

But when they investigate why Adair was driven to do what he did, they soon uncover things a lot closer to home than they would've imagined. The episode not only highlights a growing fascination many have with true crime content, but also considers the price of entertainment. But Loch Henry has also begged the question of whether any of it is actually based on true events, as they are so very chilling.

So, is Loch Henry based on a true story? Read on to find out more about the Black Mirror episode but be warned as there are full spoilers for the episode ahead.

Is Black Mirror: Loch Henry based on a true story?

As we follow along Pia and Davis's pursuit of Adair's crimes, they unfortunately wind up in a car accident, meaning that Davis has to spend the night by himself in hospital while Pia is left at home with Janet.

It's that night, though, that the chilling truth is revealed, and Stuart's father Richard (John Hannah) finds Davis's bed to tell him his reservations about him making a film about Iain Adair. Richard tells Davis that he doesn't have proof but has always known who could be the killer.

At the same time, Pia uncovers what's really on all of those Bergerac tapes that Janet keeps lined up in the house – and it's grisly. She soon sees that the tapes are home videos of Davis's dad Kenneth, Janet and Adair all taking part in the torture and eventual killing of missing tourist couple Dawn and Simon. Of course, we later find out that the personal collection of seemingly innocent Bergerac tapes are actually all evidence hiding in plain sight.

But the story of the crimes themselves have sparked an interest in viewers who have wondered whether the episode is based on any fact. Well, it's not – Loch Henry is entirely fictional.

That doesn't mean, though, that series creator Charlie Brooker hasn't delighted in poking fun at some of our entertainment habits. Episode star Samuel Blenkin told RadioTimes.com and other press about the cleverness of this season.

He said: "The commentary he’s making is about streaming itself and so many of the episodes are about the way we consume content, the way that we don’t think about that too deeply. I really like the way he’s poking us to think more deeply about the way we consume entertainment and what entertainment is for.”

As for the subject matter itself, true crime fans will undoubtedly be able to recognise certain horrifying elements from crimes of the past. Serial killers, quaint towns, hidden dungeons and missing people are unfortunately all usual key parts of many true crime stories.

But also, the documentaries that streaming giant Netflix is at the helm of usually paint a similar picture. Lest we forget that some of their most successful hits include Abducted In Plain Sight, Murdaugh Murders, Girl in the Picture and The Staircase, to name a few.

It seems as though Brooker himself has been a fan of true crime as of late, telling RadioTimes.com and other press: "You can see from looking at this season, I watched a lot of true crime documentaries and watched a lot of shows set in the past as well.”

Of course, the episode ends with Davis drinking champagne alone in a hotel room after winning a BAFTA for his documentary. His mother and girlfriend are now dead, with tourists revelling in the chance to visit the town where it all happened.

While the story is all fictional and a work of Brooker's imagination, Loch Henry really does underline how the entertainment industry has been known to exploit true stories for entertainment purposes.

Brooker also told Netflix that the inspiration for Loch Henry, like Joan Is Awful, came when he was watching TV. He revealed: “The original idea for this episode came to me while I was watching TV with my wife, Konnie, only this time it was a true crime documentary about something terrible that happened in Scotland.

“Like all true crime documentaries, it had millions of drone shots over lochs and forests. Oddly, despite this horrible story, the stunning landscapes were so beautiful we found ourselves Googling where it was and wanting to go on holiday there.”

As for whether Iain Adair is a real person - he is not, but in the episode, we learn how his isolated and demure personality was prime ground for being influenced by police officer Kenneth.

Is Loch Henry a real place?

As for the location itself, while beautiful and scenic, it's not actually called Loch Henry. So, the place that the episode is framed around is also fictional.

But that doesn't mean that the messaging behind true crime tourism is made up, as explored through what Stuart (Daniel Portman) initially tells Pia and Davis in the episode. He recalls watching a documentary himself that prompted his cousin to take a flight to the very place that was featured, just because of the stunning drone shots that were cut throughout it.

Of course, we also see at the end of the episode that Stuart's pub has now been overran by enthusiastic tourists who have gathered in Loch Henry after the debut of the documentary. We also can see how many people are wearing the red mask that Janet wore during the murders.

Although Loch Henry isn't a real place, the episode was shot around Loch Lomond, a real freshwater loch just 45 minutes outside of Glasgow.

Blenkin told Netflix: “We shot the episode by Loch Long in a village called Arrochar, near the Argyll Forest. We’ve shot in some amazing locations, and it’s been a visually stunning environment to work in.”

Black Mirror season 6 is streaming now on Netflix. Sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

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