Josh Hartnett Stars in Netflix’s ‘Below,’ Where Creature Horror Meets Deep Character Drama

Netflix's latest thriller follows Calvin Penney, a widowed fisherman in the economically struggling Newfoundland town of Snook's Arm, as a mysterious phenomenon disrupts his community. When an oily iceberg drifts into the harbour and a Portuguese fishing vessel disappears, deadly incidents cascade through the town, prompting Calvin to join forces with marine zoologist Fonda Howander to investigate the creature lurking beneath the surface.

The six-part series transcends conventional creature-feature storytelling by embedding psychological and thematic complexity into its horror framework. Calvin's resurfaced childhood trauma intertwines with the present-day crisis as the show examines how grief, family legacy, and economic collapse shape individual and collective behaviour. Rather than relying solely on monster-driven scares, the narrative positions its supernatural threat as a vehicle for exploring contemporary anxieties around climate change and community disintegration, creating multiple layers of meaning beyond the creature itself.