After a 5-Year Wait, ‘The Terror’s Return Doesn’t Disappoint With a Must-Watch Season

AMC’s horror anthology The Terror has quietly gained a stellar reputation since its premiere in 2018. The acclaimed first season adapted Dan Simmons‘ history-inspired fiction novel of the same name to frigid perfection, infusing a catastrophic 19th-century naval expedition with supernatural dread. Season 2’s original concept, subtitled Infamy, drew from Japanese folklore and centered on Japanese American individuals forcibly confined inside a World War II-era internment camp.

Season 3, Devil in Silver, returns to the series’ bookish origins by way of award-winning author Victor LaValle‘s (Apple TV’s The Changeling) 2012 bestseller. LaValle serves as a writer, co-creator, and executive producer alongside Christopher Cantwell (Halt and Catch Fire), Karyn Kusama (Yellowjackets), and Ridley Scott. As for other significant names, Dan Stevens — who’s become something of a genre regular since his Downton Abbey days — assumes Season 3’s leading man mantle. It’s suitable casting in several ways; for one, Devil in Silver unfolds in a similar setting as Stevens’ mind-melting FX series Legion. Location comparisons aside, the third installment’s synthesis of unsettling anxiety, character-first psychological horror, and piercing contemporary social critique makes Devil in Silver a gratifying watch for both returning Terror fans and devotees of shows like American Horror Story or From.

What Is ‘The Terror: Devil in Silver’ About?

Rarely seen without his well-worn Iron Maiden shirt, punk-rock Queens resident Pepper (Stevens) helps support his loving partner Marisol (Juani Feliz) and her daughter by teaching one-on-one drumming classes and driving a moving van. When Marisol’s belligerent ex-boyfriend harasses her yet again, Pepper’s self-restraint snaps. A one-sided fist fight ensues until three police officers (Michael Aronov, Marin Ireland, Philip Ettinger) intervene and arrest Pepper. Rather than filling out overtime paperwork at the police station, they select a more convenient option — committing their detainee to New Hyde Hospital’s Behavioral Unit.

Despite Pepper’s hot temper, he poses zero threat to himself or others. Nevertheless, the psychiatric ward’s supervisor, Dr. Anand (Aasif Mandvi), places Pepper in a 72-hour hold. If Pepper doesn’t obey the rules, they’ll extend his stay until he can successfully “play nice.” When Pepper’s first sedative dose plunges him into days of impenetrably deep sleep, Anand prolongs Pepper’s stay by two weeks. The fact that Pepper was too unconscious to take his mandatory daily medication wouldn’t matter to New Hyde’s executives, so Anand doesn’t even try advocating on Pepper’s behalf.

As Pepper rebels against his unjust circumstances, Dorry (Judith Light), a long-term patient, greets him with an ominous proclamation — a mysterious force has “summoned” Pepper to its domain. Eerie slithering sounds and disturbing visions seem to substantiate her theory. Pepper’s drive to escape becomes a battle to unearth the truth behind New Hyde’s sordid history and survive the alleged malevolent force lurking behind one locked, silver door.

Systemic Evil and the Demonic Collide in ‘The Terror: Devil in Silver’

Image via AMC

Rest assured, Devil in Silver humanely repudiates ableist stigmas rather than retreading One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest‘s inaccuracies. No matter the severity of a character’s mental health condition, they don’t exhibit violent behavior (countless statistics have disproven this damaging rhetoric). Although the season’s runtime requires Devil in Silver to reserve its most substantial nuances for its main quartet, the show avoids reducing the neurodivergent spectrum down to two-dimensional stereotypes. Every patient has a layered past and a poignant perspective on their profoundly lonely circumstances; they encourage one another’s individuality and build communal friendships on tenets like understanding, empathy, respect, selflessness, and speaking truth to power.

Likewise, New Hyde’s employees aren’t unethical or irredeemably imperfect. Gaslighting, negligence, and violation undoubtedly exist in the medical field, but it’s disingenuous to paint every professional with that brush. At best, the burned-out attendants provide as much compassionate support as their underfunded, understaffed resources allow. At worst, they’re too resigned to the bureaucratic red tape undermining their efforts to keep fighting for sufficiently healing care.

As long as they meet individualized needs, prescription medications and structured psychiatric facilities aren’t destructive. Dehumanizing systems that abuse their power, and the specific people profiting from said exploitation are more heartless, sinister villains than whatever demonic entity might stalk the facility’s white-gray walls. New Hyde remains a place where society discards those whom they disdain and consider inferior. Considerable healthcare reform aside, such insidious systemic violence spans every corner of America — from mental health to racism, domestic abuse, state-sanctioned incarceration, and police corruption. To paraphrase Pepper’s roommate, Coffee (Silo‘s Chinaza Uche), the “broken” system works precisely as its architects intended.

‘The Terror: Devil in Silver’s Mesmerizing Cast Anchors an Occasionally Bumpy Plot

Running at a trim six episodes (all provided for review), Devil in Silver qualifies as a slow burn similar to the creeping eeriness of Jaws before the film reveals its bloodthirsty predator in full. Emmy-nominated director Kusama directs the first two episodes, establishing a menacingly claustrophobic tone. Filmed in Staten Island’s Arthur Kill Correctional Facility, the same location used for Orange Is the New Black, the over-bright and flickering fluorescent lights, seeping black mold stains, powerless confinement, and visual motif of a floor bifurcated by a single red line resembling a pristine blood trail, feel oppressive, abrasive, and infested with heinous intent.

The stacked ensemble cast heightens these strengths until the performers materialize into Devil in Silver‘s predominant selling point. Stand-outs consist of Uche (sensational), Light (a tragic chameleon), Mandvi (subtly intriguing and a treat for Evil fans), and CCH Pounder, an icon who’s always a superb joy to watch. Stevens, meanwhile, tracks Pepper’s contrasting permutations with compelling force and ever-ratcheting fervor. All things considered, it’s a demanding arc; introduced as a casual, cool dude who believes himself a protective unsung hero, Pepper’s past mistakes and callous attitude toward his fellow patients testify otherwise. Confronted by inner demons he can no longer outrun, he must either embrace emotional growth or perish. Stevens unlocks Pepper like a Rubik’s Cube, including frenzied volatility, distraught paranoia, wearied resentment, defiant fury, and compassionate vulnerability.

Although Devil in Silver‘s parallel themes are complementary and arguably The Terror‘s most chillingly resonant scenario yet, the series doesn’t always place them on equal footing. The potent social condemnation packs a weightier blow than the mythological lore, which isn’t necessarily a flaw, but does cause an occasionally unbalanced feel with moments hovering near (if not reaching) formulaic. Never fear, however, for The Terror‘s third entry boasts effectively grisly supernatural moments, especially one devastating occurrence. Season 3 might not quite reach the spectacular first season’s overall heights, but it’s still a disquieting, philosophical dissection of human nature that simultaneously proves this anthology’s flexibility and its staying power.

The Terror: Devil in Silver premieres May 7 on AMC.

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Release Date

2018 – 2025-00-00

Network

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AMC, Shudder, AMC+

Showrunner

David Kajganich, Soo Hugh, Christopher Cantwell

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Directors

Tim Mielants, Edward Berger, Sergio Mimica-Gezzan, Fred Toye, Karyn Kusama, Michael Lehmann, Josef Kubota Wladyka, Lily Mariye, Toa Fraser, Meera Menon

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Writers

David Kajganich, Shannon Goss, Tony Tost, Steven Hanna, Andres Fischer-Centeno, Benjamin Endsley Klein, Danielle Roderick, Alessandra DiMona, Josh Parkinson

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Pros & Cons

• Dan Stevens leads a sensational cast.
• Director Karyn Kusama establishes a menacing and claustrophobic tone.
• The patients are three-dimensional human beings rather than stereotypes.
• The underlying social critique holds profound relevance.

• The supernatural mythology doesn’t hit quite as hard as the cultural criticism.

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