Let it be said, give Dan Stevens a role, any role, and expect nothing short of complete dedication, even if it means flirting with semi-caricature or toeing the line of over the top. Whether it’s as The Beast in Disney’s live action “Beauty and the Beast,” putting a Russian accent to work in “Swiped” and “Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga,” or performing dental work on a towering ape in “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” his ability to plunge into a performance serves as a testament to his chameleon-like ability and willingness to almost anything, no matter the challenge or potential to lean into what some might consider silly. Now, as lead of AMC’s third season of anthology series “The Terror,” that skill takes center stage once more, inhabiting a world with more than a few shades of what he brought to his previous series “Legion.”
“Legion,” for those unaware, saw Stevens take on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, someone, by all accounts, struggling with mental illness, eventually revealed to have a mutant superpower. “The Terror”, meanwhile, has, thus far over two seasons, taken on an anthology format, with each episode set during a specific time period that blends historical events with supernatural elements. However, the third outing adapts Victor LaValle’s novel “The Devil in Silver.”
Stevens once again hides his British accent behind something far more streetwise as Pepper, a New York City hustler simply trying to get by while caring for his girlfriend Marisol (Juani Feliz) and her daughter Isabel (Teagan Meredith). Our introduction to Pepper shows him giving Isabelle a drum lesson; seeing percussive potential in his student, he believes a new set of drums to be the next natural step, even if it carries a hefty price tag of $4,000. Apparently, Pepper isn’t aware of the pre-owned market.
Unfortunately, before his shiny new tubs can make delivery, a violent altercation initiated by Pepper when he sees Marisol confronted by Isabelle’s father/Marisol’s ex Ivan (Manuel Herrera) sees him soon thrust into police custody, eventually leading to Pepper’s committal to a psychiatric hospital, New Hyde, where what should have been a brief involuntary hold quickly extends far longer, all against his desperate will. It’s here he meets his Ugandan roommate Coffee (Chinaza Uche), eventual confidant Dorry (Judith Light), and Scotch Tape (Hampton Fluker), all in various states of mental unrest and with whom he soon begrudgingly forms a connection as he struggles with the knowledge that Marisol remains on the outside, just as confused as Pepper with this turn of events while standing on the precipice of moving on, firmly without Pepper.
Medication is provided, where, despite Pepper’s efforts, nurse Miss Chris (CCH Pounder) must visually confirm it’s been swallowed, swiftly rendering Pepper near-comatose as the pill kicks in. Could this explain the unsettling visions he soon begins to witness? The terrifying, otherworldly arms, for example, extending from the ceiling, grasping a paralyzed Pepper as unimaginable fear takes hold?
It’s nothing routine can’t fix. Stephen Root’s here to lead the book club, offering something of a reprieve, but it’s clear in such meetings and trips to the cafeteria that Pepper can’t help but feel far more lucid than his fellow residents, which is true. He is. Yet, it’s those same cohorts who possess the same knowledge of a presence dwelling within New Hyde, each with their own methods of dealing with what very well may be the actual devil, and with Pepper simply trying to find a way out. The patients on display run the gamut of what one might expect to be housed in such a place, cliché as these characters may be, even down to a book club reading of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” freely admitted to being a bit too on the nose.
There’s an undeniable dynamic between the core group, a chemistry that can’t be ignored; Pepper’s bond with Coffee manages to solidify in the face of Pepper’s skepticism, with the same soon happening with Dorry as the question soon materializes of whether she possesses a greater awareness of the bigger picture within New Hyde. As the de facto ringleader, Pepper’s the anchor, maybe because he needs to be, for the sake of the audience. Seeing his escape plan fail under the guise of an off-site jaunt to a nearby pizza restaurant perfectly captures his palpable mix of frustration and despair; when the moment arrives, he’s unafraid to cut ties with his newfound allies, even as the apparent pain of doing so can’t be hidden.
His grasp on sanity shaken with every passing minute, all signs pointing to a full breakdown despite his attempts to remain firmly in control, and it’s hard to say if his visions might indeed be something supernatural or simply a shared sensation amongst the patients, born from trauma and fueled by societal neglect as we witness these patients dumped into such a place with those all-too short visits from loved ones feeling more like an infrequent obligation. From a cinematography standpoint, the dour hues of New Hyde’s walls have few rivals for looking upsettingly bleak.
It’s a noticeable departure from prior seasons, turning the page to a type of institutional horror unlike anything depicted before and propped upon a cast in complete command of the screenplay. You can’t help but feel drawn into New Hyde’s doors, that sensation of sitting alongside Pepper or Coffee as the slow burn unfolds, before you realize it’s time to start the next episode. It’s a rare mix of adaptation and anthology storytelling done right; what does “The Terror” have in store for us next? I’m afraid to find out, and that’s a very good thing. [A]
