Below TV Series Review

Introduction (Warning Contains Spoilers)

The Netflix series Below transports viewers to a remote fishing community in Newfoundland that is terrorized by something hidden under the waters of the sea.

Created by Jesse McKeown, this six-episode supernatural thriller combines creature horror, family drama and small-town conspiracy.

Josh Hartnett stars as Calvin Penney, a stubborn fisherman struggling to protect his family and community.

His home is the fictional coastal town of Snook’s Arm, where life is already becoming increasingly difficult.

The fishing industry is struggling, and the community faces pressure to abandon its homes.

Then a mysterious sea creature begins terrorising the coastline.

Calvin teams up with visiting marine biologist Fonda Howander, played by Mackenzie Davis, to understand the growing danger.

However, the creature is only part of the problem. Family tensions, environmental changes and the influence of wealthy local interests gradually complicate the story.

There is plenty to enjoy here, particularly when the series embraces its eerie coastal setting. Unfortunately, Below sometimes struggles under the weight of its own ambitions.

It introduces so many ideas that several become confusing or feel insufficiently developed.

The result is an atmospheric thriller with intriguing concepts, but an occasionally frustrating execution.

A Creepy Coastal Setting

The setting in Below is one of the most effective aspects of the show. Snook’s Arm is isolated, rugged, and more uncertain than ever about its future.

The surrounding ocean gives the feeling of a looming danger.

Even simple fishing excursions give this uncomfortable feeling that something might go wrong.

The series uses this distant location effectively. Dark water, cold surroundings and danger from the unknown give a proper scary atmosphere.

The ocean is no longer just the setting. It symbolizes the unknown at the same time providing for the livelihood of the community.

This makes the creature’s arrival more dangerous. The villagers need the ocean, but they do not understand what is happening in its depths.

This makes for an interesting starting point of the series. The village also has its own history which will slowly become part of the bigger picture.

The villagers experience economic instability and are threatened by relocation. For that reason, the supernatural threat appears in the community that faces its own problems.

This makes Below more complex than a simple monster story.

Josh Hartnett Leads the Investigation

Josh Hartnett portrays Calvin Penney, a fisherman burdened with heavy emotions. Calvin is a stubborn man who is protective about his land and unwilling to leave.

The reason for this can be explained with the fact that the village means much more to him than just a place of residence.

This place reminds him of his family, his past and the disappearance of his father. Hartnett gives his character a grounded physical appearance.

Calvin looks like a man who is used to hard work and real-world problems. He does not easily understand the scientific aspects of the matter and complex research.

In this regard, he contrasts well with Mackenzie Davis’s marine biologist character.

While Calvin solves the mystery based on his own experience and intuition, Fonda relies on scientific knowledge and her own vision of the creature.

Such a combination of their characters helps a lot in exploring various views of the story. It is especially good when Hartnett’s character shows his vulnerabilities due to his stubbornness.

His character experiences grief, economic troubles and conflicts with his children.

Mackenzie Davis and the Supporting Cast

Mackenzie Davis provides an important counterbalance as Fonda Howander. Her scientific background gives the investigation a different direction.

She approaches the creature with curiosity rather than simply treating it as a monster. That perspective becomes increasingly important as the story develops.

Fonda helps connect the supernatural elements with the environmental questions beneath them. Davis also brings a slightly awkward quality to the character’s interactions with Calvin.

Their relationship offers occasional warmth amid the increasingly disturbing events. However, the series does not always give their connection enough room to develop naturally.

There are moments when the relationship feels secondary to the next plot revelation.

Charlie Heaton plays Wade, Calvin’s troubled oldest son. Wade introduces another layer of family tension.

His behaviour and experiences also connect him more directly to the mysterious creature. Heaton brings an unsettling energy to the role.

Unfortunately, Wade’s storyline sometimes becomes difficult to follow as supernatural events multiply. His experiences introduce intriguing possibilities without always providing enough clarity.

Ruby Stokes and Natasha Henstridge also contribute to the wider family and community drama.

The ensemble helps make Snook’s Arm feel like a place with competing interests. However, several characters receive limited development.

Some seem to exist primarily to advance the plot or introduce another complication.

That makes it harder to become emotionally invested in everyone affected by the unfolding crisis.

A Creature Feature With Familiar Influences

Its horror influences are quite apparent. Firstly, there is an evident resemblance to Jaws and its threatened coastal community and monster.

Moreover, there is an evident connection between Below and The Thing in terms of the uncertainty regarding the threat in question.

The films realize that fear works better when people do not completely comprehend the nature of their fears.

Below does the same in its early episodes. The monster stays mysterious whereas the citizens try to make sense of more and more frightening events.

The ocean gives a natural element of suspense.

Unlike in the case with a creature locked in a building, the threat in question can disappear in large amounts of water.

This fact makes it hard to find, predict and deal with it. Another set of influences on the series includes classic small town horror and folklore.

It helps give it its special atmosphere. Nevertheless, it sometimes gets hard to say where inspiration ends and copying begins.

Below sometimes seems to borrow ideas of horror films instead of coming up with its own ideas.

References are not something to be criticized. Monster movies are based on previous films and storytelling traditions.

The difficulty comes when the series introduces so many influences that its own identity becomes less clear.

I wanted the show to develop its most interesting ideas further.

Instead, it sometimes moved towards another reference or mystery before fully exploring the previous one.

Too Many Ideas Beneath the Surface

The main problem with Below is that it overcomplicates its plot. It seems simple at first glance.

A dangerous sea monster is endangering a small fishing village. Calvin and Fonda want to understand the threat and warn the residents about it.

That’s already a good basis for a supernatural horror thriller. But Below adds even more layers to the plot.

There are family mysteries, strange symptoms, local legends, environmental issues, conflict about the future of the village.

And then the rich Crocker family turns out to be the key to the whole conspiracy. Every single idea is interesting and promising.

But the problem is where to fit them all.

Sometimes it feels like some of the discoveries and mysteries appear way too early and before the previous ones are revealed.

Some of the plot lines feel irrelevant until they try to somehow tie it all together. And it makes it hard to understand what is really going on.

Sometimes I just couldn’t figure out if the event has an explanation or it was just created to add one more question.

Below does not always maintain that distinction.

The show seems determined to be a creature feature, family drama, environmental warning and conspiracy thriller simultaneously.

Those elements could complement one another. Unfortunately, their balance is inconsistent. The result is a series that sometimes feels more complicated than its central story requires.

The Accents Can Be Distracting

Another factor that at times did not fit well with me is the dialogue. Sometimes, the very pronounced accents of the characters made their conversations distracting.

In some shows, you can hear a certain sound that could be seen by viewers as Irish, especially when several characters speak.

This distracts one from getting involved in the plot.

The setting of the show is Newfoundland, and it has a very distinct regional accent along with a very pronounced culture.

The presence of the regional accent does not necessarily have to be treated as a flaw.

The important thing here is whether or not the performances seem to fit into the world of the show.

In my case, at times the accents stood out more than the emotions of the characters.

This distracted one from the tension that the scene had to bring. It also made some conversations sound less realistic than they should have been.

However, this will not necessarily bother every single viewer.

Nevertheless, the dialogue occasionally became a distraction during scenes that needed greater emotional impact.

Family Grief Gives the Story Heart

Underneath all the supernatural aspects, Below is also a tale of grief. Calvin’s father going missing was a major event in his life.

The childhood experience left him with traumatic memories and a lingering burden of responsibility. Even his relation with his kids shows some of those problems.

And Wade is especially crucial because his actions make Calvin feel the need to protect his family. Calvin wants his kids to be safe.

But there is no way for him to control everything that happens to them. This conflict creates an emotional basis for the series.

The appearance of the creature also makes Calvin look at his childhood experience in a new light. For a long time, he was feeling guilty about what had happened.

He had been thinking for years that his actions were responsible for his father’s death. This personal background adds more meaning to the mystery.

The investigation is not just a struggle against the monster. It is also a chance for Calvin to confront his past.

This is a very strong concept of the show. Sadly, the increasing conspiracy gets in the way of that.

I would have welcomed more time exploring Calvin’s grief and his relationships with his children.

Those elements are often more compelling than the additional mysteries surrounding the town.

Environmental Horror and Corporate Greed

The series also explores the relationship between environmental disruption and human greed.

Snook’s Arm faces pressure to relocate, supposedly because its future is becoming increasingly uncertain.

However, the proposed relocation hides a more troubling motive. The wealthy Crocker family has its own interests in the land beneath the community.

This introduces a familiar but effective conflict. The residents are treated as obstacles by people who see their homes as valuable resources.

The conspiracy connects the village’s economic problems with the wider mystery. It also changes how the audience understands the apparent threat.

The creature may be dangerous, but the human characters are capable of considerable destruction themselves.

That reversal gives Below a more interesting moral dimension. The environmental themes also connect with the creature’s circumstances.

The ocean is changing, and the consequences extend beyond human communities.

The series suggests that people often misunderstand threats when they focus entirely on their immediate interests.

This is a worthwhile idea. However, the environmental message sometimes competes with the supernatural plot.

The series could have explored these connections more clearly. Instead, several ideas become entangled before their significance is fully established.

What Works and What Does Not

The best thing about Below is its atmosphere. The remote setting creates a convincing sense of isolation.

The ocean feels unpredictable, and the creature provides a strong source of suspense. Josh Hartnett also gives Calvin an engaging combination of stubbornness and vulnerability.

The family drama adds emotional weight to the investigation.

I also appreciated the attempt to connect creature horror with environmental damage and corporate exploitation.

These ideas give the series more ambition than a conventional monster thriller. However, the storytelling is less successful.

Too many competing ideas occasionally make the plot difficult to follow.

Some characters remain underdeveloped, limiting the emotional impact of important events.

The accents can also become distracting during certain conversations.

The horror influences are enjoyable, but sometimes too obvious. The series appears eager to explore every idea it introduces.

Consequently, several interesting concepts receive less attention than they deserve. I would have preferred a more focused story.

A clearer balance between the creature mystery, Calvin’s family and the relocation conspiracy would have strengthened the whole series.

The foundations are certainly there. Unfortunately, the execution does not always match the ambition.

A clearer balance between the creature mystery, Calvin’s family and the relocation conspiracy would have strengthened the whole series.

The foundations are certainly there. Unfortunately, the execution does not always match the ambition.

Overall Verdict

For me, Below works best when it focuses on the relationship between people, their environment and the consequences of their choices.

It becomes less effective when too many mysteries compete for attention. The series is therefore an interesting but uneven addition to Netflix’s supernatural thriller catalogue.

It has ambition, atmosphere and some memorable ideas. It simply needed a more focused approach to make those elements work together.

Ultimately, Below is worth considering for fans of creature horror, but its tangled storytelling prevents it from reaching its full potential.

Below Ending Explained

Spoilers for the finale follow.

As it turns out, the creature terrorizing Snook’s Arm is not just a mindless beast.

It has become evident that the creature is an intelligent deep-water cephalopod that is trying to protect its offspring.

Its behavior is motivated, among other things, by the necessity to safeguard its offspring.

The nest of the cephalopod is connected to an iceberg, and due to changed conditions, the eggs are endangered.

These facts make the attacks more meaningful for the audience. The creature is dangerous, yet there is a logic behind its behavior.

Apart from revealing the nature of the attacking creature, the film discloses the truth about the human conspiracy that caused the relocation of the village.

In fact, it was the influential Crocker family that manipulated the whole situation in order to obtain mineral deposits under the village.

Calvin’s family history is therefore connected to the same greed threatening Snook’s Arm. His father’s disappearance was not simply evidence of a supernatural curse.

The larger conspiracy enables Calvin to realise that his early-life misfortune is part of something much bigger than he could control.

This realisation makes him confront his guilt and take necessary steps.

At the end of the story, Calvin opts to protect the creature from danger instead of making it his enemy.

He moves it towards safer waters, thus ensuring its survival. This decision has been informed by his realization about the circumstances.

Calvin ultimately understands that the creature was actually not so different from him.

Calvin finally understands that the creature is not that different from himself. Both are protecting their families.

Moreover, the ending provides some hope for the human characters. Calvin and his people get a chance to breathe a sigh of relief from the immediate threat of relocation.

His relationship with his family members starts to get better. Such an understanding allows him to deal with his guilt and take necessary actions.

At the end of the film, Calvin chooses not to hurt the creature but save it. He moves the creature to safe waters where it can live.

This action is prompted by his increasing understanding of reality.

Calvin understands that the creature is similar to him because both are trying to protect their families.

Some hope for human characters is present at the end of the film as well. Calvin and his people receive relief from the immediate threat of relocation.

Now things look brighter for him.