The Terror (AMC historical horror miniseries)

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The Terror (AMC historical horror miniseries)

Postby KleinerKiller » Sun Apr 08, 2018 7:34 pm

Hey, a discussion post about a TV show! These turn into an actual discussion 20% of the time.

Anywho, I've been watching The Terror, AMC's new historical fiction / horror miniseries adapted from the novel of the same name. It's a fictionalization, albeit a meticulously researched one, of the lost Arctic expedition of Sir John Franklin -- in which two ships, the Erebus and the eponymous Terror, were mysteriously lost along with their mutual crew of 129 men. For centuries, only scattered evidence and reports from Inuit eyewitnesses remained of the voyage; the remains of the respective ships were only discovered in 2014 and 2016. I guess 2016 was a big year for terror of all kinds, hey-o. The causes seem to be numerous and aptly described as a complete chaotic clusterfuck, but the novel and thus the series attribute at least some of the disaster to a supernatural cause.

And let me tell you, the series is only three episodes in (for people watching it on TV as it airs; AMC actually released all of the episodes already, but I'm choosing not to binge), but it's currently the most impressed I've been with AMC since I finally got around to watching Breaking Bad. None of the crippling pacing issues or notoriously stingy budget balancing that's plagued shows like Walking Dead and Preacher are present here. The whole look of the show, whether it's on the ships or out on blinding ice, is phenomenal; no corners were cut bringing the Arctic wastes to life, and you're immersed in the isolated atmosphere from minute one. The tension is wound so tight even in scenes of safety that it makes the few scenes where shit pops off a grim delight. Ciarin Hinds and Jared Harris are perfectly cast as the captains of the two ships, and while some of the other sailors are a little indistinct at present, the ones who get focus (including a timid doctor and a gay man trying to suppress himself) are just as great. My only major complaint right now is that it's pretty damn hard to decipher what's being said sometimes, due to a combination of thick accents, fast speech, and occasional audio balancing issues, but I usually get the gist.

Givin' this one a high recommendation, whether you're looking for a compelling and well-researched historical drama or a chilling (sorry) supernatural and psychological horror show. And I'm stunned that it's come out of AMC, rather than, say, HBO.
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Re: The Terror (AMC historical horror miniseries)

Postby SandTea » Tue Apr 10, 2018 11:07 pm

I've been wanting to watch this but I hate waiting for episodes if I actually like a show so my policy is to wait for, at least, season 2's first episode before watching anything. I hate cliffhanger bullshit that I'd have to wait a year for. At that point I already stopped giving a shit.

If this is just one season I'll tune in when it's done. So, catch ya later but thanks for the info. sounds cool
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Re: The Terror (AMC historical horror miniseries)

Postby LunarTeaHouse » Fri May 11, 2018 4:54 am

I'm OBSESSED. But I have a bit of an affinity for tall ships and nautical stuffs. I have the Hispañola and pirate map from Steveson's Treasure Island tattooed on me.

This show has absolutely captivated me. I'm hooked. The language, the sets, the costumes, the captain's logs, calligraphy, and aged equipment, the story, the development of the characters, the acting, the chemistry, the music... the whole thing is just basically maritime porn.

Knowing the history of the lost Franklin expedition, I'm not looking forward to the ending. I have grown to love so many of the characters. You can almost feel their pain, their confusion as they are losing their minds, their hunger, their cold, their sickness, their realization that they will never see home again, and how each man deals with these realities in different ways. Some choose to drink, some choose to stick to their commands and duties, some choose suicide, some choose optimism and try to lift each other up, others quietly suggest murder and mutiny.

It makes you wonder what sort of choices YOU would make, although it's impossible for anyone to say unless they had been trapped in similar circumstances.

My favorite characters are Captain Crozier, FitzJames, Dr. Goodsir, and the one mate with the peg leg. I admired him so much when he showed so much courage facing Tunbaaq.
It's such a treat to come home from a long Monday knowing I have this show to look forward to. I will be so sad when it all goes down.
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Re: The Terror (AMC historical horror miniseries)

Postby SandTea » Fri May 11, 2018 9:41 am

LunarTeaHouse wrote:Knowing the history of the lost Franklin expedition, I'm not looking forward to the ending


I pretty much agree with everything you said. What do you think of the ending?

Spoiler: show
That he decided to just live with the natives was understandable and acceptable but I didn't think it was the greatest of endings. As in wrapping up the series it seemed plain. I would have liked a sort of everyone gets to know what happened ending instead but I do understand why they went that route.


I binged the hell outta this show and I do hope there is not a second season. I think they did a good job making the scary.... thing. I was more interested in the characters actions than the things actions so I would call this show a success, I recommend this to everyone who likes horror flicks.

edit- Any ideas about the forks on peg leg confronting tunbaaq? That was something I didn't quite understand.
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Re: The Terror (AMC historical horror miniseries)

Postby LunarTeaHouse » Wed May 23, 2018 10:28 pm

SandTea wrote:I pretty much agree with everything you said. What do you think of the ending?


Spoiler: show
I think this is actually *somewhat* historically accurate. There were accounts by natives who swore they saw and spoke with Captain Crozier even as far as 1850, after the Royal Navy rescue ships arrived. I think it's entirely plausible. If you remember, people didn't really like Crozier back in England. He was Irish, deemed "low birth," not fit to marry Franklin's niece, not fit to command the expedition despite his previous Arctic experience. I think if he were the sole survivor and he had made it back to England, he probably would have been blamed for what had happened. I also think that after what he had seen and experienced, maybe he didn't feel "at home" among normal people anymore. He watched his best friends die and become cannibalized. I don't know if I would have wanted to go back either.


I didn't binge, I watched them each week as they aired. What a great way to end a long Monday. I will surely miss it.
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Re: The Terror (AMC historical horror miniseries)

Postby KleinerKiller » Fri Jun 22, 2018 3:55 pm

I still haven't gotten to watch the final two episodes as I've been visiting my girlfriend, but we have news that there will be a second season. In keeping with the anthology format, though, it will have nothing to do with the madness on the Terror and the Erebus. Instead, it will be reportedly be centered around chilling events in a Japanese-American internment camp during WWII. Timely.

A large part of me really wishes this had just been its own thing, but I am always down for an anthology horror series that takes a bite out of American Horror Story's hack bullshit empire.
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Re: The Terror (AMC historical horror miniseries)

Postby KleinerKiller » Sun Sep 23, 2018 9:33 am

Finally got my full review done! I really, really loved this show, but come in and feel free to disagree / call me an overzealous bitch.
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