# The Terror (2018)

> A horror anthology that reimagines real historical catastrophes, from a doomed 19th century Arctic expedition to a Japanese American internment camp, as supernatural nightmares.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/65263

## Facts

- Seasons: 2
- Episodes: 20
- Episode runtime: 44 min
- Status: Canceled
- Genres: horror, drama, history
- Created by: David Kajganich, Max Borenstein, Alexander Woo
- Network: AMC
- Cast: Jared Harris, Derek Mio, Ciarán Hinds, Cristina Rodlo, Tobias Menzies, Kiki Sukezane, Paul Ready, Shingo Usami
- TMDB rating: 7.8/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2708480/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: bleak, claustrophobic, mournful, dread-filled, tense

## What critics say

Audiences rate the anthology's atmospheric horror and period recreation positively, with the first season regarded as stronger than the second.

## Synopsis

The Terror (2018-2019) is an American horror anthology series created by David Kajganich, Max Borenstein, and Alexander Woo for AMC. Each season dramatizes a real historical catastrophe as a supernatural nightmare. The first season follows Captain Francis Crozier (Jared Harris) and Sir John Franklin (Ciarán Hinds) aboard two British Royal Navy ships trapped in Arctic ice in the 1840s, where Captain James Fitzjames (Tobias Menzies) and Doctor Henry Goodsir (Paul Ready) face starvation, scurvy, and a hostile unseen presence. The second season shifts to a Japanese American internment camp in 1940s California, centered on Chester Nakayama (Derek Mio) and Luz Ojeda (Cristina Rodlo) as a deadly illness and an ancient shaman's curse disturb a community already under strain. Each season is a self-contained ten-episode story built on slow-building dread, grounded period detail, and tense human conflict. The tone is bleak, claustrophobic, and mournful, with the horror rooted in isolation, hunger, and prejudice. Fans of Fargo, Hannibal, and Chernobyl will find resonance in its blend of historical realism and creeping menace.

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