HorrorHR Tamnica

Set in 1847. A crew of a Royal Naval expedition is sent to find the Arctic's treacherous Northwest Passage but instead discovers a monstrous predator, a cunning and vicious Gothic horror that stalks the ships in a desperate game of survival, the consequences of which could endanger the region and its native people forever.

Set in 1847, The Terror begins when "a Royal Navy expedition crew searching for the Northwest Passage is attacked by a mysterious predator that stalks the ships and their crews in a suspenseful and desperate game of survival." Spoiler: it doesn't end well. At least if they go by history's recording (which, judging by the inclusion of a "mysterious predator," they're not). Also: sign me up.

In real life, subsequent expeditions sent to first search for, then to uncover what happened to the HMS Erebus and the HMS Terror suggest that the crew died from a combination of hypothermia, starvation, lead poisoning, disease, and exposure to a hostile environment. So, no mysterious predators... that we know of. Though there were findings that suggested the crew resorted to cannibalism, as one often does in these situations.

But there's an impressive confidence to the storytelling that will grab viewers with a taste for sophisticated horror. All-round terrific acting is a huge part of it, notably from Harris in his best role since Mad Men. (And how great to see Hinds and Menzies together again after HBO's lamented historical ripper, Rome.) The production's physical elements also are top-notch, from the richly detailed ships' interiors to the miniatures and digital effects work of expansive overhead shots. The claustrophobic sense of entrapment is reinforced every time ace cinematographer Florian Hoffmeister's camera swoops back to reveal the two ships like toys, wedged into cracked marble that seems destined to engulf them.

The Terror has the enviable freedom to tell you how this story is going to inevitably end because that's not really the mystery at all...I absolutely loved this opening hour.

In an era when horror-based television is becoming more and more prevalent, The Terror stands out.

The thing lurking in the wilderness is described by a shaman as "a thing of muscles and spells", and horror fans will no doubt immediately recall the gloopy and icky delights of John Carpenter's The Thing (1982).

There's an impressive confidence to the storytelling that will grab viewers with a taste for sophisticated horror.