The Terror: Devil in Silver

Why I took it off the list:

I watched the first season of this anthology horror series, about a doomed Arctic expedition in the 1800s, when it first came out in 2018. And while its chilly mood was impressive, I found it a bit too slow-paced for my liking and sort of gave up on it.

The following year, a second season of The Terrror was released. A standalone story about a Californian internment camp for Japanese Americans during WWII seemingly haunted by a bakemono .

And in my opinion, it was a vast improvement over the Arctic story. Just as claustrophobic, but filled with more dramatic tension and thematic depth, and more overtly scary.

But then The Terror seemingly just disappeared. There was no cancellation announcement, it just never came back.

So I was incredibly surprised a couple of weeks ago to read that a third season, dubbed Devil in Silver, had come and gone. It premiered on May 7, 2026, and had already concluded by the time I became aware of it.

Based on the novel of the same name by Victor LaValle, I was intrigued by the fact it was set in a decaying mental health ward, and starred Dan Stevens, who almost always picks interesting projects.

Also, it seemed like the producers had taken their time in choosing the perfect new story for the anthology.

And as the episode count had been reduced down to a more appealing six from the previous ten for the first two seasons, I decided it was a great candidate for a binge watch on a hot summer night.

Review of The Terror: Devil in Silver (2026)

The third iteration of The Terror opens with a scene in which something monstrous has descended from loose ceiling tiles to brutally kill someone confined to a bed.

I rolled my eyes, and was almost ready to give up on the season, as I’m a bit sick of this overused horror trope. And had already seen it done to death recently in the underwhelming Netflix series The Boroughs.

However, the next few moments hooked me in, as panicked staff members attempt to get rid of the body quickly to avoid distressing the other patients. And have to resort to some grisly methods in order to do so.

An ominous shot of a locked silver door is shown over the title credits, before we see staff members clean up the bloody aftermath by simply flipping the mattress as, “That’s all we can afford these days.” And it’s an early insight into the true villain of the series: systematic failures.

It’s only then that we’re introduced to our colorful protagonist, Pepper (Stevens), a bit of a man-child with a fiery personality. But who is well-intentioned and committed to providing for his girlfriend Marisol (Juani Feliz) and her daughter Isabel.

A failed rock musician, Pepper nonetheless wants to continue using his talents in some way by teaching drumming to neighborhood kids. He insists he needs a real drum kit to do so, as he can’t be using pots and pans.

However, Marisol reminds him that they are already low on money. And if her ex Ivan, Isabel’s father, finds out they are blowing their savings on inessential things, he may cause trouble.

Next, we see Pepper at his mover day job, clearing a house of junk. But once the task is completed, he sits down for a break and starts scrolling drum kits on his phone and sees one he likes: for $4,000. He hesitates, before impulsively buying it.

A decision that bites him in the ass when he tells Marisol over the phone and she is livid, as he’s essentially spent all their savings. But their call is interrupted on Marisol’s side by the arrival of Ivan, who Pepper hears talking in an aggressive way. Enraged, he speeds off.

The next scene is disorientating in the speed in which the situation deteriorates, only the first instance in a season full of such moments. Arriving on the scene already furious, Pepper assaults Ivan after seeing him put his hands on Marisol.

And then something strange happens: three plainclothes police officers show up out of nowhere, subdue Pepper, and haul him off to be booked. Once in the police car, Pepper begs them to let him off, as he was only trying to protect his loved ones.

But he gave the lead officer a bloody nose during the struggle, and he’s not in a forgiving mood. And he, and the other officers, are also feeling lazy, and don’t want to deal with paperwork at such a late hour.

So they decide to do Pepper “a favor” and drop him off at the Behavioral Unit of the mostly-abandonded New Hyde Hospital. He begs them just to let him go, but he’s dragged screaming behind the heavy doors of the locked unit anyways.

He is interviewed by chief physician Dr. Anand (Evil‘s Aasif Mandvi) and promised release within 72 hours if he will only “comply. “ However, especially after he’s forcibly drugged up, “compliance” seems impossible to satisfy.

Because of factors largely outside his control, his stay keeps getting increased. And it soon becomes apparent that, like the dozen other patients in there, he’s seemingly never getting out.

Genuinely Scary and Unnerving

The first patient that Pepper encounters in the ward is Dorry (Judith Light), who hovers behind Dr. Arnad at intake. And who ominiously asks Pepper, “You know where you are? You’re in the jungle, baby.”

At first, Dorry comes across as a bog-standard crazy old lady. But it soon becomes apparent that there’s more to her than meets the eye. She seems all too aware of the evils that haunt the ward (both human and otherwordly). But, naturally, being a mental patient, her warnings are dismissed.

Dr. Arnad assures Pepper that: “Maybe you’ll get something out of all of this, it is meant to help.” But while the staff seem well-meaning, it’s clear they are weary and doubt if they are really helping at all.

Ultimately, their hands are tied by the law and strict rules established decades earlier by Dr. Walter (John Benjamin Hickey). A revered figure whose portrait still adorns the walls of the ward.

And it soon becomes apparent that, despite being dead for quite some time, Dr. Walter has never left his beloved hospital. Hickey is suitably menacing as this phantom, who first appears to one of the police officers who has a change of heart about committing Pepper. Which Dr. Walter cannot allow.

The season is full of things that don’t make much sense. Most notably, the gung-ho police officers (including ace character actress Marin Ireland) frequently show up out of nowhere at times when their presence could only (and does) make things worse.

What’s more, chief administrator Miss Chris (the always-reliable CCH Pounder, sporting a robust Jamaican accent) insists that the patients are lost causes who have no-one that cares about them, despite the opposite being shown during visiting hours.

And the other staff, including nurse/enforcer “Scotch Tape” (Hampton Fluker), know that something isn’t quite right about the hospital, which is one messy incident away from closing down. But they are terrified of losing their jobs, so look the other way.

However, rather than being lazy plot holes, these nonsensical events feel very much intentional. The usual trope of asylum horror, that of a sane person being committed and struggling to prove they don’t belong there (effectively used in the best season of AHS), is present and correct.

But Devil in Silver‘s present-day setting (a departure for the The Terror), and its focus on the unwitting complicity of everyone in the system in keeping people opressed, make it a particularly disturbing entry in the sub-genre.

Light (perhaps best known for her Emmy-nominated work on Transparent, but who gave an exceptional turn in an episode of American Horror Stories), is undoubtedly the standout performer of this season.

She brings real nuance to Dorry, cycling through a variety of states from sinister to warm, agitated to cool-headed, practically comatose to unbearably anguished.

Stevens also does a great job as the fiery Pepper, giving us a flawed yet endearing hero to root for. And the cast playing the staff members, including Pounder, Mandvi, and the great Stephen Root, all get juicy, complicated characters to play with.

The production design of the hospital isn’t particularly creepy. While admittedly decrepit and falling apart, it looks like it could be any public health service facility. And that’s what makes it scarier. It really feels like Pepper’s ordeal could happen to any of us on an unlucky day.

Final score: 9/10