Actor Dan Stevens has received a two-star review from critic Christopher Stevens for his leading role in Sky Atlantic horror serial The Terror.
The six-part drama, subtitled Devil In Silver, stars Stevens as Pepper, a short-fused New York refuse collector who ends up trapped in an old-fashioned psychiatric asylum.
Writing for Gossipify, Christopher Stevens awarded the series just two stars, criticizing the production as dull and tasteless nonsense while reflecting on the career choices of its lead actor.
Stevens departed his role as Cousin Matthew in Downton Abbey back in 2012 to seek fame in the United States. His exit forced creator Julian Fellowes to write out the character, who was killed in a car crash during the 2012 Christmas special.
In his latest television project, Pepper is committed to the decrepit New Hyde hospital after assaulting police officers. The arresting officers dump him at the facility simply to avoid completing the necessary paperwork.
Asylum setting and anthology format
The Terror: Devil In Silver forms part of an anthology brand. Although it shares a title with its predecessor, the new installment features a completely different cast, setting and time period.
The original series of The Terror was based on the true historical narrative of Sir John Franklin and his doomed 1840s Arctic expedition to discover a North-west Passage through the polar ice. The second iteration was adapted from a novel by screenwriter Victor LaValle and takes place in the present day.
The narrative includes flashbacks to the post-war era, when medical professionals routinely treated mental illness using lobotomy surgery. Christopher Stevens noted that the series draws heavy inspiration from the 1975 film One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, particularly during an early group therapy scene.
In that sequence, reluctant patients sit in a semi-circle while a doctor reads aloud from Herman Melville's novel Moby Dick. The scene culminates when a corpse with its throat ripped open falls unexpectedly through the ceiling tiles.
Grim humour and supporting cast
The critic argued that the show fails in its attempt to critique the state of American psychiatric healthcare, accusing it instead of indulging in basic fears of mental illness. He highlighted instances of grim slapstick comedy, including a scene in a later episode where a medic uses a lobotomy hammer to crush ice for a whisky drink.
Alongside Dan Stevens, the cast of The Terror: Devil In Silver includes Michael Aronov as Huey, Philip Ettinger as Louie and Marin Ireland as Dewey.
The show also features an inmate named Loochie, played by an actor credited solely by the single letter b. Christopher Stevens admitted he initially mistook the single-letter stage name for a misprint before learning it was the actor's full name, noting that while it likely requires constant explanations, it saves time when filling out forms.
