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The biggest name attached to “The Terror,” a new series on AMC, is that of the executive producer Ridley Scott. And the show has some Scott trademarks. It’s about a dangerous expedition to what might as well be a distant planet (unless you’re an Inuit) — the Canadian Arctic in the 1840s. And along the way there’s a monster that hides in the shadows and picks off the crew in a notably violent and bloody manner.
Created by David Kajganich, a screenwriter (“A Bigger Splash”) and former wilderness guide, the show does not, unfortunately, display Mr. Scott’s ruthless talent for putting the viewer’s guts in a knot. “The Terror,” which begins its 10-episode run on Monday, is like many polar expeditions: long, educational, full of interesting things to look at and not completely successful.
“The Terror” is based on a best-selling 2007 novel by Dan Simmons, which was in turn based on the fate of the Franklin expedition of 1845. In one of the great mysteries of the Victorian age, John Franklin’s two ships, the Erebus and the Terror, were sent to find the Northwest Passage and vanished along with their 129 men.
Over the next half-century, search parties found skeletal remains, interviewed Inuit witnesses and pieced together the story: Caught by pack ice and stranded for two straight winters, the survivors set out to walk hundreds of miles to the nearest outpost, but all died far short of the goal. The wilderness of sea, ice and barren land where they spent their last few years was so remote that the wreckage of the ships was not found until 2014 and 2016.
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“The Terror” doesn’t just make do with this already fascinating, though admittedly downbeat, story. It adds that monster, a spirit animal that’s part polar bear, part Mack truck, known as the Tuunbaq. The beast is there both for supernatural-thriller jolts and for mystical-philosophical weight — it’s the manifestation of the unknown and savage, a point the show’s later episodes drive home pretty heavily.
If you were expecting two hours of The Walking Dead on Sunday night, you were probably surprised to find that the second hour was actually dedicated to the first episode of AMC’s new show, The Terror. Created by David Kajganich (the screenwriter behind the upcoming Suspiria remake) and Soo Hugh (Under the Dome), and executive produced by horror legend Ridley Scott, The Terror follows two doomed British Royal Naval ships on an expedition searching for the Northwest Passage. Before you can even start to hold out hope that the ships’ crews might have survived, the show immediately tells you that they were never seen again, and a chilling prologue reveals that Captain Francis Crozier (Jared Harris) left behind a final message begging those who follow not to come looking for them.
If you missed the first episode of the 10-episode miniseries, you can catch the full two-part premiere on Monday night at 9pm on AMC. The show also stars Ciarán Hinds, Tobias Menzies, Paul Ready and Ian Hart among its principal cast, and is based on the novel of the same name by Dan Simmons, which was published in 2007.
Related: The Terror Trailer Teases Ridley Scott’s AMC Horror Series
Based on the confused reactions from The Walking Dead fans, it seems like not many people had heard of The Terror before its surprise preview. If you like what you’ve seen so far, but want to know more, here’s quick guide to AMC’s new miniseries.
Is The Terror Based on a True Story?
The Terror is speculative fiction – which is to say, it’s based on a true story, but most of the plot is fictionalized. The HMS Terror and HMS Erebus were both real ships, which set out on an expedition from England in 1845, and most of the characters in the show are based on real people. The entire expedition – a combined crew of 129 – was lost, and the wreckage of the two ships was not discovered until 2014 (Erebus) and 2016 (Terror). The series’ prologue, in which an Inuk offers some idea of what became of the lost men, is based on real accounts of searches for the lost ships. We also have some idea of how the men on the expedition died – mainly exposure and starvation, with some cannibalism thrown in. However, there was also evidence of lead poisoning, which led some to speculate that the poisoning had been instrumental in the expedition’s failure.
Is The Terror a Supernatural Show?
The biggest twist that Simmons’ novel adds to the story of the lost Franklin expedition is the addition of a monster called the Tuunbaq, which stalks the crew through the icy wilderness. So, while The Terror might just look like a particularly harrowing period drama, it does have supernatural horror elements as well. In the first episode, a dying seaman called David Young (Alfie Kingsnorth) has a vision of ghostly figure that warns him of the expedition’s impending doom. The unnerved ship’s doctor notes that the young man seemed to be clear-headed, and was not suffering from fever dreams or hallucinations. It seems like a safe bet that things will only get weirder from here.
Is The Terror Worth Watching?
Yes, if the first episode is anything to go by. The Terror boasts a fantastic cast and wastes no time locking its poor doomed souls into a nightmare situation. The show has received mostly positive reviews from critics, with RogerEbert.com describing it as “Master and Commander Meets The Thing,” and Vulture calling it “less of a drama than a ten-hour nightmare.” It’s probably not for the faint of heart, and based on the reviews it seems like the first episode’s mix of grim deaths and oppressively icy atmosphere is merely a taste of the awful things to come. But for fans of movies where survival in harsh conditions clashes with an unknown monster menace (think The Thing, Alien and The Descent), The Terror will likely be a ten-hour treat.
If you caught the first episode, let us know what you thought of it in the comments!
More: AMC’s The Terror First Look Teases a Harrowing Miniseries
The Terror‘s two-part premiere will air on Monday 26th March at 9pm on AMC
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A new TV show offers a supernatural answer to one of history's great mysteries – but the true story involves cannibalism, chocolate and a very angry Charles Dickens
The Terror: it's Master and Commander, with monsters. The new horror series from US channel AMC, home of the hit zombie drama The Walking Dead, follows a boatload of arctic explorers on the run from a vengeful spirit that dwells in those frozen wastes.
Ice-monsters may be fictional (at least, one would hope so), but the show is based on historical fact. It's the latest retelling of the doomed 1845-46 expedition of Captain John Franklin and Francis Crozier, and their two ominously named ships – Erebus (one of the rivers in the Greek...
