TV Review: The Terror

TV Review: The Terror – Infamy

July 19th 2019, 9:10am

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Synopsis: The Terror continues and centers on a series of bizarre deaths that haunt a Japanese American community, and a young man's journey to understand and combat the malevolent entity responsible. In addition, the series is one of the first depicting the internment of Japanese Americans on such a massive scale – complete with authentically recreated camps in scope and scale as post-WWII.

Review: Last season, AMC delivered a taught historical thriller with supernatural overtones with The Terror. Based on Dan Simmons' novel, The Terror chronicled the real life tragedy of the HMS Terror and melded it with something even more monstrous. With stellar performances by CIaran Hinds and Jared Harris, The Terror was always viewed as an event series. By converting it to an anthology, AMC has tried to tell another historical horror story, this time taking on the terrible events surrounding the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. Combined with a ghost story, The Terror: Infamy is far scarier than it's predecessor thanks to an equally affecting fact-based story of one of the darkest chapters in American history.

Co-created by Max Borenstein (GODZILLA, KONG: SKULL ISLAND) and Alexander Woo (True Blood) with George Takei serving as a special advisor, The Terror: Infamy did not have a source novel to serve as inspiration, but that is not evident on screen. Tonally, this story is very different that the first season in every way. Yes, both seasons follow a historical event merged with horror elements, but the first two episodes of The Terror: infamy spend a great deal of time introducing us to the Nakayama family including Chester (Derek Mio) who was born in America versus his parents' generation. But all are wary of legends and curses that seem to have infected their close-knit community in the post-Pearl Harbor fear that led to the internment of Japanese-Americans.

The series opens with a startling suicide and the first episode spends a lot of time hinting at supernatural spirits and demons that create a rift between generations. At the start, the demons are personified with creepy body movements and peeling skin, but as the show progresses, they become increasingly more grisly and surreal. But, Borenstein and Woo do not shy away from the fact that the true monsters this season are the American xenophobes that view all Japanese-Americans as potential spies and less than human. I cannot think of many mainstream shows that have tackled such a maligned moment in American history with such a damning eye. George Takei, who has first-hand experience with the internment camps, ensured that this show would handle the dramatization respectfully and it shows.

What really strikes home in The Terror: Infamy is just how scary it is without going over the top. Where the first season dealt with a supernatural animal, the spiritual evil this season feels much harder to combat and poses an equal threat to the political climate at the time. One such element of the spiritual evil is Yuko (Kiki Sukezane) whose motivations are hard to identify in the early episodes but does an excellent job of making the viewer question just what is going on this season. Last season, there could easily have been a scientific explanation for the monster, but so far with Infamy it seems like the ghosts haunting the characters are far less explainable.

Like last season, The Terror: Infamy unfolds in a very deliberate manner, often skirting the supernatural plot elements to focus on the relocation and eventual imprisonment of the Nakayama clan and their friends and neighbors. The indirect focus on the evil spirits works to make the series feel more realistic but also drives the horror home even more. Watching these episodes affected me greatly, maybe even more than the first season. Maybe it is because it is easier to relate to a story set in the 20th century rather than the 19th or it could be because the plight of interned Japanese is very similar to the countless concentration camp films we have all seen before, but the Infamy cast do an excellent job of playing this tale as anything but a formulaic horror story.

While slow moving in some places, The Terror: Infamy really draws you in to a layered story with a large cast of characters whom you really care about as they fight horror on two fronts. It is also impressive to see such a high profile production with a largely Asian cast, something rare on American television. The respect paid to this chapter in history is admirable, but it is even more impressive when you see that this show works both as straight drama as well as a horror story. The blend of J-horror tropes with history and family drama makes The Terror: Infamy a worthy addition to this growing anthology and makes it very difficult for AMC to find a story that will be good enough for a third chapter.

The Terror: Infamy premieres August 12th on AMC.