Netflix has added another horror treasure to its digital library with AMC’s supernatural anthology series The Terror. Each season of this show features a standalone story in the vein of American Horror Story. But unlike the latter show, The Terror presents a more grounded and less stylized picture of horror by blending reality and folklore in a distinctive way.
After having won the Satellite Award for Best Genre Series, The Terror has proven itself a modern horror classic just waiting to be seen by more audiences. Here’s why they should check out this acclaimed anthology this August.
It’s a classical approach to horror
Given that each season of the The Terror is essentially a period piece, the show presents a traditional and sophisticated take on horror that proves once again that the genre can be taken seriously. Despite it featuring supernatural creatures, the show grounds itself in reality by focusing on how the characters react as they try to survive harsh, isolating environments.
The way the characters come face-to-face with unknown and unforgiving terrors harks back to the works of author H.P. Lovecraft, which should appeal to fans of classic horror while presenting it through a more modern lens.
The third season is coming out real soon
Though production of the show had been all but silent since 2019, The Terror will soon return with a six-episode third season subtitled Devil in Silver and based on Victor LaValle’s acclaimed book of the same name.
According to its official synopsis, the third season “tells the story of Pepper, a working-class moving man, who, through a combination of bad luck and a bad temper, finds himself wrongfully committed to New Hyde Psychiatric Hospital — an institution filled with the people society would rather forget. There, he must contend with patients who work against him, doctors who harbor grim secrets, and perhaps even the Devil himself. As Pepper navigates a hellscape where nothing is as it seems, he finds that the only path to freedom is to face down the entity that thrives on the suffering within New Hyde’s walls — but doing so may prove that the worst demons of all live inside him.”
While this upcoming storyline doesn’t display a specific inspiration from real-world history, it will no doubt tackle society’s less-than-favorable historical treatment of people who have struggled with their mental health, fitting in with the show’s themes of survival and isolation in a harsh, confusing reality. This makes The Terror a must-see show for modern audiences when it returns in 2025.
The show is based on true stories, which makes it scarier
The Terror stands out from its horror contemporaries by taking a look at historical events not often explored by modern media. For instance, the show’s first season, based on Dan Simmons’s novel of the same name, features a fictionalized retelling of the 1840s expedition to the Arctic carried out by the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror. Both ships were infamously trapped in the ice, but the show makes things supernatural as the crew members find themselves tormented by a mysterious creature.
Meanwhile, the second season, subtitled Infamy, follows a group of Japanese-Americans forced to live in internment camps during the Second World War and are seemingly tormented by the ghostly “bakemono” from Japanese folklore. The season even stars Star Trek actor George Takei, who actually survived a Japanese internment camp as a child.
People have complained that there aren’t that many original horror movies these days, but that’s because many studios are afraid to explore unfamiliar stories. Since this show focuses on moments in history that many have either overlooked or downright forgotten, this may very well be the show that horror fans have been aching to see.
I boasts some of the best writers and producers working today
Many may not know that the show’s first season was helmed by a modern legend in both horror cinema and indie films in general. The Terror‘s initial showrunner, David Kajganich, is famous for his frequent collaborations with acclaimed filmmaker Luca Guadagnino (Challengers), having written the scripts to three of the director’s movie:, A Bigger Splash, Suspiria, and the more recent hit Bones and All.
One of the showrunners for season 2, Max Borenstein, is famous for his work on the scripts for multiple films in Legendary Pictures’ MonsterVerse, including Godzilla, Kong: Skull Island and Godzilla vs. Kong. Meanwhile, his showrunner partner, Alexander Woo, co-created Netflix’s hit sci-fi series 3 Body Problem. All in all, The Terror displays strong talent in the ones running the show from behind the scenes. And it also helps that the show has the financial support of famed director Ridley Scott.
The Terror is now streaming on Netflix.