Picture Credit: Netflix
There is not enough original horror on Netflix. It’s a bit of a lonely desert on the streaming service for horror hounds, especially once Mike Flanagan left. While studios make bank at the box-office with scary stories, there’s an odd lack of horror on Netflix. Which is one of but not the only reason why our first impressions of Below—following its highly anticipated World Premiere as the Primetime Opening Night selection at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF)—suggest the series will be a breath of fresh air.
The buzz for this six-part limited series has been building rapidly since Netflix dropped the official trailer and additional first looks on September 10th with an ominous warning: SOMETHING’S IN THE WATER… Lucky festival-goers had the chance to catch the first two episodes during showtimes on September 10 and 11, and there is one more upcoming screening on September 19 for those at TIFF still hoping to brave the tide.
Mind you, the air is deadly.
So is Newfoundland as depicted in the horror-fantasy series from creator and showrunner Jesse McKeown, who worked on The Sinner and The Umbrella Academy. Without spoiling any of the set-up, which is best experienced blind, there is trouble in the waters. It may or may not be cooking for the locals, including Calvin Penney (Josh Hartnett), a big-hearted but stubborn fisherman who is haunted by his father’s mysterious death decades ago. Technically, Penney fishes for ice, but let the show fill in the rest of the blank there.
When Penney and his family come together, strange happenings occur. Lives are lost. Dead flamingos are found in a part of the world that makes no sense, although that is based on an intriguing true story from Newfoundland. Below kind of plays like a fun campfire story – a tall tale, co-starring Mackenzie Davis (Station 11) as a visiting marine researcher, Charlie Heaton (Stranger Things) as Calvin’s son, Wade, and Rohan Campbell (Silent Night, Deadly Night).
Director James Childs (The Sandman) sets a nice and spooky tone with these first two episodes. Horror fans will eat up the atmosphere that calls to mind The Fog and Messiah of Evil, as well as the not-at-all shy inspiration of Jaws. The town feels lived-in, a safe place now in danger like the classic Spielberg film. We aren’t the only ones feeling the chill, either; Dread Central’s own TIFF first impressions echoed this, praising the show as an “atmospheric sea monster tale kept afloat by a bounty of charismatic performances.”
What’s clear from the beginning, though, is McKeown and his team – including the writer of the OG Ginger Snaps, Karen Walton – are not making horror pastiche. Below isn’t a copy or paste job. It’s taking cues from horror classics and absolutely running and diving deep down into the sea with them.
It’s reverent – but more importantly, Below is a story and a part of the world that we don’t see time and time again. There’s something fresh here, to the scenery, to the voices, to even the scares. At the center of it all, audiences get Hartnett – playing a brash but sensitive role that leans into his strengths while giving him some new notes to hit as well.
BELOW. (L to R) Josh Hartnett as Calvin and Mackenzie Davis as Fonda in episode 101 of Below. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix© 2026
BELOW. Willow Kean as Ruth in episode 104 of Below. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix© 2025
BELOW. Charlie Heaton as Wade in episode 101 of Below. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix© 2026
Hartnett anchors the series. Given he’s a bit of a gem to the genre, including 30 Days of Night and The Faculty, he knows how to play fear well. Right from the beginning, the limited series gives audiences an ordinary man – an odd description for Hartnett, I know – to root for once the water poses a threat to his close-knit community. Below isn’t without heart, making it all the more promising to invest in the compelling mystery the first two episodes set up. Hartnett, sea horror, and a killer Danzig needle drop – what else does a series really need to kick things off with a bang?
(Note: While at TIFF, we also had the chance to sit down and speak with the producers behind Below—stay tuned, as we’ll be publishing that interview in due course!)
Below debuts on October 8th, 2026.