What Is Netflix’s ‘Below’ About? Cast, Creature and Early Reviews
Netflix’s Below sends a monster into a dying Newfoundland fishing town and lets it cause chaos. The creature is a massive squid, released when ancient Arctic permafrost thaws. It marks territory by rubbing against icebergs. It also kills people. The Guardian’s review calls it “one big frozen mucous membrane” and sums up the creature as a killer snot-berg.
Created by Jesse McKeown, Below is a six-part supernatural thriller set in Snook’s Arm, a struggling Newfoundland fishing community. The Guardian describes the show as “forged from industrial-grade bunkum,” which gives you a sense of the tone: loud, wet, and not remotely subtle. The monster is an ancient, unknowable evil, and the thawing permafrost gives it a way back into the world.
Who’s Who in Snook’s Arm
Josh Hartnett leads the cast as Calvin Penney, the family patriarch. The Guardian calls him a “ripped paterfamilias,” which frames him as a hard-edged father at the center of the community’s fight. Charlie Heaton plays Wade Penney, a twitchy young roustabout. Mackenzie Davis plays Dr. Fonda Howander, a scientist from the Ocean Science Centre in Seal Cove. David Wenham also appears as a self-styled “climate change activist” who, according to The Guardian, is having a whale of a time.
The show pairs the working-class Penney family with scientific experts and an activist, which gives the story a few different ways to react to the creature. The locals are trying to survive. The scientist is trying to understand it. The activist is trying to make a point. Then the squid starts killing everyone.
What the First Reviews Say
Early reviews are split in tone but agree the show looks and sounds impressive. Rotten Tomatoes’ first-reviews roundup is titled “A Monster Horror Worth Watching,” a sign that some critics think the creature feature delivers. IndieWire’s review is more tempered, calling Below a “silly Netflix creature-feature” that is “a treat for the eyes and ears and not much else.” That suggests the filmmaking, sound design, and visual effects carry the show even when the script doesn’t.
The Guardian’s review leans into the absurdity. It describes the squid as a “bastard” and clearly enjoys the spectacle. But it also uses phrases like “industrial-grade bunkum,” so it’s not exactly a rave. Put together, the early response paints Below as a fun but shallow horror ride: big, gross, and willing to throw logic overboard in favor of monster mayhem.
The ecological angle is hard to miss. The monster doesn’t come from outer space or a lab; it comes from melting permafrost, and a character explicitly calls himself a climate change activist. That gives the bloodshed a backdrop of real-world anxiety. For viewers, Below is an easy call: if you want a loud, gross, visually striking monster story with a recognizable cast, it is streaming on Netflix now.