Key Highlights:
- Netflix’s original horror-thriller series Below stars Josh Hartnett and Mackenzie Davis, following a remote coastal community plagued by an aquatic menace.
- Set in Snook’s Arm, Newfoundland, the production blends classic creature-feature suspense inspired by Jaws with authentic regional folklore and resettlement history.
- The series explores both external creature violence and internal psychological distress as a mysterious affliction spreads through the local township.
Following audience fascination with atmospheric, small-town horror like Widow’s Bay, Netflix has introduced Below, an ocean-bound thriller starring Josh Hartnett and Mackenzie Davis. While prior island mysteries leaned heavily into ancient insular curses, Below looks straight into the ocean depths. Set against the frigid backdrops of Newfoundland, the series constructs an homage to classic maritime thrillers, following a coastal hamlet confronting an emerging predatory terror from the deep.
The Mystery of Snook’s Arm: Premise and Character Dynamics
The narrative of Below unfolds in the remote coastal town of Snook’s Arm, Newfoundland. Josh Hartnett portrays Calvin “Cal” Penney, a dedicated local fisherman and iceberg harvester. Cal’s life centers on his home and trade during the town’s “Come Home Year,” an authentic Canadian civic tradition that brings former residents back to their roots. The celebration reunites Cal with his adult son Jay (played by Rohan Campbell) and daughter Mary (played by Ruby Stokes). Meanwhile, his third child, the unpredictable Wade (Charlie Heaton), lives at home assisting with their Airbnb business while fruitlessly lobbying his father for a spot on the family fishing vessel.
The domestic tension is quickly eclipsed by bizarre disruptions across the coastline. Huge schools of fish vanish overnight, tourists go missing during standard coastal hikes, and a Portuguese fishing vessel alongside its entire crew disappears without a trace. Teaming up with local ocean researcher Fonda Howander (Mackenzie Davis), Cal works to confront the emerging reality: a massive, lethal predator lurks in the waters off Snook’s Arm, placing the entire populace in immediate danger.
Classic Aquatic Thrills Combined with Regional Folklore
The pairing of a hardened maritime worker and an analytical scientist consciously echoes the dynamic between Robert Shaw’s Captain Quint and Richard Dreyfuss’s Matt Hooper from Steven Spielberg’s classic thriller Jaws. Cal’s character leans more toward family protection than solitary vengeance, yet Below pays clear tribute to the seminal film. The show incorporates visual nods ranging from sudden floating human wreckage to frantic shots of underwater mass charging a town dock, with Hartnett’s character even remarking on his practical commercial need for a “bigger boat.”
Rather than relying solely on giant-monster tropes, the production gradually unveils its beast through fleeting glimpses of an eye or sweeping tentacles before pivoting into regional psychological horror. After an initial brush with the leviathan, Wade begins sleepwalking, experiencing terrifying hallucinations involving the “Old Hag,” a prominent figure in Newfoundland sleep paralysis folklore. As this condition spreads through the community, Snook’s Arm faces a dual crisis: defending their waters against a physical menace while enduring a wave of internal paranoia and psychological breakdown.
Grounding Creature Horror in Authentic Newfoundland History
Beyond its genre mechanics, Below roots its stakes in the real-world socio-economic history of Atlantic Canada. A driving plot mechanism is the threat of resettlement—the formal relocation of isolated outports to larger, centralized population hubs. The series begins by depicting the historical resettlement that originally established Snook’s Arm during Cal’s childhood, underscored by the striking historical visual of entire wood-framed homes being pulled across open water by flotillas of boats. This narrative point mirrors reality, as the actual town of Snook’s Arm underwent official resettlement in 2018.
This pressure resurfaces through the actions of the Crocker family, a powerful local dynasty pushing for modern redevelopment and relocation. These corporate pressures combine with broader environmental crises, including warming ocean temperatures that threaten the native marine ecology. By layering authentic maritime livelihood and environmental vulnerability beneath the monster-hunting narrative, the series balances high-concept creature terror with human drama.
Why This Matters
As streaming platforms continue to target audiences seeking regional, atmospheric horror, Below represents an intersection between naturalistic setting and creature-feature traditions. By anchoring high-concept monster threats in verified Canadian coastal policies—such as resettlement programs—and local maritime folklore, the production offers a grounded approach that distinguishes it from purely supernatural island thrillers. Below is currently streaming on Netflix.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does Netflix’s Below take place?
The series is set in the small coastal community of Snook’s Arm, located in Newfoundland, Canada. The production incorporates historical events from the region, including outport resettlement and the traditional “Come Home Year” celebrations.
Who stars in the cast of Below?
The series is led by Josh Hartnett as fisherman Calvin “Cal” Penney and Mackenzie Davis as ocean researcher Fonda Howander. The supporting cast features Charlie Heaton as Wade Penney, Rohan Campbell as Jay Penney, and Ruby Stokes as Mary Penney.
What type of monster is featured in Below?
The show features an aquatic predator from the ocean depths marked by tentacles and massive scale. In addition to the direct physical danger it poses, encounters with the creature trigger severe psychological symptoms and hallucinations linked to Newfoundland’s “Old Hag” folklore.
