The Terror (2018)

The Terror is a slow-burning, atmospheric horror anthology that blends historical drama with supernatural menace. Each season takes a real-life tragedy and turns it into a tense, character-driven nightmare that trades jump scares for mounting dread, moral collapse, and stark period detail. Season 1 (based on Franklin’s lost expedition) follows the crews of HMS Terror and HMS Erebus in 1847–48 as they become trapped in Arctic ice while searching for the Northwest Passage. What begins as a survival story becomes something darker: a cunning, polar-bear‑like predator—rooted in Inuit myth—stalks the ships while starvation, disease, mutiny and despair tear the men apart. The presence of a mute Inuit woman who practices her tribe’s animistic beliefs complicates loyalties and the men’s understanding of fate. Expect crushing cold, claustrophobic ship interiors, slow escalation from hope to horror, and brutal, sometimes harrowing scenes (including cannibalism and violence) as the crew unravels. Season 2, titled “Infamy,” shifts to World War II America and the Terminal Island Japanese‑American community. It follows a Japanese‑American protagonist investigating a string of supernatural killings in the internment camp—deaths tied to a folkloric shapeshifter (bakemono). This season pairs supernatural mystery with sharp social commentary about racism, betrayal and the erosion of civil rights, offering a tense, sometimes tragic detective-horror experience rooted in real injustice. If you watch The Terror you’ll get immersive period production design, deliberate pacing that prioritizes atmosphere over spectacle, strong character work, and a chilling blend of historical realism and folkloric horror. It’s bleak, often unsettling, and emotionally weighty—best suited to viewers who appreciate slow-burn suspense and thematic depth rather than pure gore or thrills. (Content note: both seasons contain violence, disturbing imagery, and heavy themes.)

Actors: Jared Harris, Derek Mio, Tobias Menzies

Genres: Adventure, Drama, History

7.9 /10 7.9 /10