Below Review – An Astonishing Waste of Time

Netflix struck gold with Jesse McKeown with The Umbrella Academy. The two reunite for the thrilling series, Below. The series stars Josh Hartnett, who has seen quite a resurgence over the last few years. When Netflix released the trailer of the series, it had everyone talking about how incredible it looked. Stranger Things star Charlie Heaton stars alongside Hartnett with Mackenzie Davis and Rohan Campbell. 

What is Below about?

In a small Newfoundland town, Calvin Penney is still haunted by his mysterious death from decades ago. However, when an unidentified creature begins to wreak havoc, the town is turned upside down. With his son Wade (Charlie Heaton) and the rest of his family in trouble, Calvin teams with a marine research team to confront the creature. With the attacks on the town, secrets start to unravel, leaving his family and the town at risk. 

Below Review

BELOW. (L to R) Josh Hartnett as Calvin and Willow Kean as Ruth in episode 102 of Below. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix© 2025

In 1986, the Newfoundland Resettlement Program moved families from the remote fishing villages into larger towns. As we witness a family being transported, the water becomes a bit foggy, and the boat’s engine gets caught on something. The father goes into the house and sees something in the water, leading to the house sinking and the family cutting ties and getting away. We fast forward 40 years later to where the young kid who watched his father die, Calvin Penney (Josh Hartnett), is still living and fishing in the town. 

I want to start off by saying that Josh Hartnett had one of the worst accents you will ever hear. Every time this man opened his mouth, I wanted to hit the fast-forward button. When you have a main character whose accent takes you out of the series, you don’t have much of a series, do you? However, that isn’t the only thing that was bad about this.

This was such a slog. I was two episodes into this and was bored out of my mind.  There was nothing exciting, thrilling, or even remotely entertaining about this. Jesse McKeown built this entire “aura” around the idea of the mysterious creature and failed to connect any of the dots in between. Even at the moment of this creature coming to life, it fails to ignite any sort of reaction out of you. It’s been a while since I’ve been so excited for something to end up being so disappointing. 

BELOW. (L to R) Azriel Dalman as Young Calvin, Kamryn Pliva as Young Ruth, and Rhiannon Morgan as Brenda Penney in episode 101 of Below. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix© 2026

By now you are probably wondering if there was anything I liked about the series, well I did love the cinematography. I loved the dark atmospheric nature of the series that really sucks you into this world. The same could be said for Mark Korven’s score, which was quite remarkable. Unfortunately, the incredible work of this team was wasted on a bad show. 

I will say I also did like several of the supporting players. Charlie Heaton plays Wade Penny, a vulnerable, struggling kid who can’t seem to make the right decision. Fresh off his run in Stranger Things, Heaton showcases some acting chops and is superb in this. Mackenzie Davis and Ruby Stokes (from Bridgerton) are both solid additions to the cast. 

Is Below worth watching?

My hopes were high with a cool premise, nice atmosphere, and a strong lead, but ultimately Below is an underwhelming and utterly boring series. As a fan of The Umbrella Academy, I had high hopes that Below would hit a home run. But between Josh Hartnett’s unforgivable accent and a script that was paper-thin, you are left drowning in the deep end. If you are looking for something to watch this weekend, flip on something else because even at six episodes, this felt like it was an old-fashioned 22. 

Below is available to stream on Netflix.

Below Review – An Astonishing Waste of Time