Josh Hartnett battles a giant snot iceberg and sea monsters in Netflix's new thriller

Josh Hartnett stars as a rugged fisherman in Below, a new six-part supernatural thriller streaming on Netflix. Set in the struggling Newfoundland fishing community of Snook's Arm, the series follows locals as they face a towering and mysterious iceberg that smells of ammonia. According to Dr Fonda Howander, played by Mackenzie Davis from the Ocean Science Centre in Seal Cove, the massive object is actually a frozen mucous membrane or giant snot-berg. The town's troubles stem from a giant squid unleashed by thawing Arctic permafrost, which rubs against icebergs to mark its territory while killing locals and causing trawlermen to vanish.

Cast and Production

Charlie Heaton plays Wade Penney, a twitchy young roustabout who serves breakfast to Airbnb guests while warning them about deadly waters and past tragedies. Josh Hartnett portrays Calvin Penney, a tiny-eyed widower and ripped paterfamilias trying to protect his family and community. The cast also features David Wenham as a self-styled climate change activist and Australian researcher, alongside Natasha Henstridge and Joshua Close. Created by Jesse McKeown, the show blends aquatic horror, family drama, and nods to classic horror films like The Thing and The Fog, while touching upon real-world issues like government resettlement programmes and climate change.

Context

Netflix limited series often draw on regional Canadian settings to create moody atmospheres for supernatural thrillers. Environmental themes such as thawing permafrost and warming oceans are increasingly used as backdrops in modern creature features to add a layer of real-world relevance to monster stories.