The ice, the fearful ice, is everywhere inThe Terror.
The AMC series (the two-hour premiere starts tonight at 9 p.m.
ET) is half-truth and half-fantasy, but even the nonfiction parts are unlikely.
Credit: Aidan Monaghan/AMC
In 1845, two British explorer ships set off for the Arctic, searching for the mythic Northwest Passage.
Another captain, Francis Crozier, commanded theTerror.
Things turned out badly for them.
The question is:Howbadly?
Science-fiction author Dan Simmons adapted the story of the expedition into a dark historical fantasy novel.
The AMC series maintains the books fantastical elementssome horrificthingis patrolling the white wastes.
But the first episode is more like a realistic portrayal of genuine fantasy.
Hes prone to glorious pronouncements about God and country: We are two weeks from finding the Grail!
is how he describes the expedition ahead.
His second-in-command isnt so sure.
As Captain Crozier,Mad Mens Jared Harrislooks like the shipwreck he expects to die in.
He sees the winter coming, and worries about being stranded in subzero temperatures.
We are about to commit an act of hubris we may not survive, he tells Sir John.
Youknowwhat men are like when they are desperate.
(I wouldnt talk, because why embarrass myself?)
Executive producers David Kajganich and Soo Hugh have divergent resumes.
He wroteA Bigger Splash, Luca Guidagninos pre-Call Me By Your NameItalian holiday.
Then theres that whole, ah, monster-y thing.
The opening episodes of the series gradually build up to the revelation that the men are being hunted.
The horror can be gruesome, and hilarious.
Red blood bursts across a frozen monochrome; a coffin is buried, with only a leg inside.
Its a colonialist nightmare, Men of Civilization vs. Theres a culminating shock in the third episode, but I worry aboutThe Terrors ability to sustain itself.
And so far, the supernatural elements are less compelling than the very human drama onboard the ships.
The men eat their shoes, shiver in the shadows, trek across an empty expanse.
Hinds pontificates, and Harris mutters.
The freeze is tangible.
When you watch it, wear a sweater.B+
