Did Critics Get Netflix's Below Right?
Something is attacking the boats off a Newfoundland harbour, and Josh Hartnett plays the fisherman who has seen it before. Below, the six-episode Netflix limited series from creator Jesse McKeown, dropped in one go on Thursday, October 8. By the next day it had pushed East of Eden off the top of Netflix's series chart in Germany, according to Netzwelt.
The scores tell a split story. When we checked, Rotten Tomatoes had critics at 82 percent and its audience Popcornmeter at 61. A twenty-point gap on a monster show usually means the two camps watched for different things, and that is the question worth settling before you give it a weekend.
What you are signing up for
Hartnett plays Calvin Penney, a fisherman with a dark past. As a boy he came face to face with a creature beneath the waves, and now that attacks are piling up off the harbour, he fears it is coming for his own kids. Mackenzie Davis plays Dr. Fonda Howander, a marine biologist who helps him dig into the attacks, and Charlie Heaton plays his son Wade, the first to run into the strange stuff.
It was shot in Newfoundland, and even viewers who soured on the story keep citing the atmosphere and the cast. Six episodes fit comfortably into a Saturday and a Sunday.
The case for
The critics who liked it liked it for the basics. Original Cin gave it an A for its family lore and local legends. Collider gave it 7 out of 10 and, in ComicBasics' summary, said you may not feel the need to rewatch it but you won't regret the weekend. Even the reviewers who were cooler on the show tended to exempt its star: JoBlo found the series bland but named Hartnett the standout, and IGN praised him while doubting the show could sustain its premise.
Read those last two again. That is praise for the man and the monster, with a condition attached to everything around them, and the condition is where the viewers come in.
The case against
The complaints are consistent. Screen Rant gave it 5 out of 10 and said it has too much story and never balances its influences, which run from Stephen King to South Korean monster movies to Stranger Things. The Daily Beast called it a "thin washout" that starts strongly and fades, and But Why Tho? felt it drifts before a bittersweet finish. Viewers who enjoyed the atmosphere still felt the story lose momentum, with arcs left hanging. One viewer quoted by ComicBasics called it "chilling & deeply flawed." Then there is the accent: JoBlo felt Hartnett's Newfoundland voice fell short, while other viewers praised the cast's accents, so judge that one with your own ears.
Our verdict
The critics are closer, but only if you watch it as a creature feature first. Come for the harbour, the dread and Hartnett's stubborn fisherman, and Below delivers a sturdy weekend. Come expecting every secret to click into place in episode six, and you will side with the 61 percent.
It is for anyone who still checks the water after Jaws, and for fans of small towns that close ranks around something terrible. If your patience for loose ends is short, skip it.
What to watch after
Go back to the source of all sea-monster dread with Jaws, a fishing town and a creature in the shallows. Then try Apple's Widow's Bay, which BGR set beside Below: both are driven by a stubborn hero who knows the truth and a son caught up in the danger. McKeown told BGR he had not heard of it until after filming wrapped, and his first reaction was "Oh s**t."
For more Hartnett under siege, 30 Days of Night is the obvious next step, another isolated town and something hungry. Penny Dreadful gives him three seasons of gothic horror, The Faculty catches him in late-90s teen horror, and Trap hands him a very different kind of menace.
