Below is a Taut, Atmospheric Creature Feature Worth Your Time
Below is a supernatural thriller with effective lean writing, rooted in Creature Features. If you are looking for slow-burning dread over jumpscare theatre, then look no further. I highly recommend this mysterious film set in Newfoundland.
A Refreshing Take on Isolation
By combining the supernatural with the very real factors devastating the fishing industry and communities, the series incorporates a weight commonly lacking in this genre. It’s not just the supernatural that’s threatening. The residents of this community are becoming economically desperate and, led by Calvin Penney, are leaving their heritage to take up the government’s offer of resettlement.
While some may argue the supernatural elements are secondary in the show, I believe that the show works because it prioritizes the human elements. Josh Hartnett delivers a performance which feels weathered and authentic. He grounds the supernatural elements in the very real grief of a man losing his father to the same elements.
Atmosphere Over Spectacle
The production design magnificently captures the desolate and merciless beauty of Newfoundland’s coastline. The dissonant score by Mark Korven helps create and maintain an environment of low-level anxiety. By using instruments of the sea and deserting orchestral swells, Korven has crafted a scarily beautiful and chilling score.
The show stumbles in the middle episodes with pacing that can feel repetitive while it explores the mythical origins of the creature. However, it remains committed to its supernatural tension. It refrains from explaining the mechanics of the supernatural in an attempt to resolve the rising tension and maintain the sense of dread.
Who Should Dive In
This series is a perfect choice for anyone who likes Broadchurch and similar shows, but wishes for a darker twist with Lovecraftian horror. It’s a slowly developing mashup of a community’s past and a disturbing, violent future.
Like Broadchurch, this isn’t the show for someone looking for fast-paced, action-packed monster shows. A Life on the Edge rewards viewers for being patient and interested in a plot that depicts a community crumbling because of an unknowable, inexplicable trauma.
Unlike Broadchurch, this show may appeal more to those who are accustomed to watching international series and films, due to its heavier use of subtitles. So, the pace of the show may be appealing, however the inclusion of several foreign languages may take some adjustment for some viewers.
Below: Ending Explained
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(Spoilers ahead) The ending of Below serves as a grim warning about the costs of being haunted by your past. When Calvin finally faces off against the being that killed his father, we learn that the creature isn’t a biological predator. In fact, it is the ocean’s way of rejecting the people that don’t leave. We see the town get engulfed by the sea. It proves that the people of Snook’s Arm were defying nature, and it eventually would claim the land for itself rather than saving it.
