A new Netflix original thriller is making big waves as it racks up millions of views in its first week on the streamer. It’s polished and eerie, with an incredibly tense setting and a phenomenal cast that brings to life a story that will have you sitting on the edge of your seat—definitely a step above many recent thrillers and murder mysteries. If you want the tension, along with the twists and turns that you got from shows like Homelander and The Americans, but brought down to a more intimate scale, this series is for you.
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Starring Claire Danes, Matthew Rhys, and Brittany Snow, The Beast in Me centers around an author named Aggie Wiggs (Danes), who has become a recluse in the wake of her young son’s tragic death. She finds herself unable to write and struggles to cope with life outside of her grief. But inspiration strikes when the house next door to hers is purchased by the charming real estate mogul, and one-time murder suspect, Niles Jarvis (Rhys). It’s more atmospheric and moody than your average thriller, going for narrative and character-driven moments over cheap flashes of expectation subversion.
With its more than 45 million hours viewed so far, The Beast in Me is currently sitting at an 83% on Rotten Tomatoes. The consensus is that it’s beautifully filmed and full of gripping performances, but that the plot seems to come apart at the seams in a few places—relying more on Danes and Rhys’ ability to draw viewers in than a mystery that feels totally solid. “It’s a classic thriller executed with such panache that at times you feel you’re in the middle of someone’s nervous breakdown. But you won’t want to look away for a second,” said Ben Dowell of The Times UK, and Rebecca Onion of Slate says, “If the twists and turns come to seem a little bit predictable around Episode 5 of this eight-episode miniseries, at least you can always look forward to Aggie’s interplay with Rhys’ plain-spoken, forceful Nile.”
It’s Got Everything You Could Want In A Modern Thriller
When asked what drew him to the subject matter of the show, showrunner Howard Gordon told Tudum, “One of the things that drew me to the show initially was that we’re living in a time with texts and threads and smearing people and jumping to conclusions, but it’s always been this way. Whether it’s Monica Lewinsky or Amanda Knox or Nile Jarvis, sometimes we are quick to make assumptions, and to believe what we’re reading, and to be led to believe what we want to believe for whatever set of reasons. But when we are forced to look at it from another angle, do we have the humility and the compassion to listen, and to revise the narrative?”
It’s definitely a timely narrative and an interesting spin on your typical murder mystery, weaving together curiosity, obsession, and a dark sort of seduction draws you in and keeps you riveted the entire time.
Have you seen The Beast In Me yet? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below! And don’t forget to head over to the ComicBook forums to see what other fans are saying.
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