Given there will now be a sizeable wait for season 2 of Matthew Rhys’s superb drama (filming will reportedly only start next spring), Netflix are plugging the gap by washing ashore this six-part series starring Josh Hartnett.
In the rustic town of Snook’s Arm, weather-battered fisherman Calvin Penney (Hartnett) faces losing his home and livelihood. He wants to scale his ice harvesting company and get his kids involved in the family business.
But he hits choppy waters when the town begins to be terrorised by a kraken – and it soon transpires this creature isn’t the only monster in town...
Meanwhile, Calvin also must contend with his kids. There’s the wonderfully odd Wade (Charlie Heaton) who constantly feels overlooked by his father, naive Jay (Rohan Campbell) who isn’t being all that honest about his life of luxury on the mainland, and no-nonsense Mary (Ruby Stokes), who just wants to show her boyfriend Noah (Kaleb Horn) her charming hometown – and it’s safe to say he gets a lot more than he bargains for.
Despite Hartnett being the draw (amid his welcome renaissance over the past couple of years, with roles in Oppenheimer and The Bear), it’s Heaton is who elevates Below from being a bog-standard monster saga to an altogether more exciting show. Fresh from playing Jonathan Byers in Stranger Things, his performance is energetic – verging on crazed at times – and frequently steals scenes from the threat in the depths; even if one of his storylines hits the rocks towards the end of the series.
The location is also a star. The real-life community of Snook’s Arm in Newfoundland, Canada gives the drama a grounded sense of place; not least because many of the details of the story have been lifted from real life and from the province’s rich folklore.
Clocking in at a tight six episodes, it is also broadly well-paced. It’s not all plain sailing given the plot veers off course at points – the series has a tendency to cast its net a little too wide – and even though many of the scares are predictable, they still prove compelling.
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The constant threat of a monster who could lash out at any moment remains as gripping as it did in Jaws 50 years ago. And while Below could learn a lesson from Steven Spielberg’s ethos of keeping the monster hidden as long as possible, the consequences when it strikes are a thrill. This show also happily doesn’t hold back on the gore.
Despite a few flaws, writer Jesse McKeown (The Umbrella Academy), has delivered a gripping series which also tackles worthy topics including the urgency of climate change, the importance of compassion in an increasingly uncaring world, and the power of community. It’s worth diving in.
Below will premiere on Netflix on 8 October.
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