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Here are the best horror television shows of 2018.
Read more: Comic book-related television shows (2018), Comic book-related television shows (2017), and DC Comics to Films (and TV) in 2016.
CHANNEL ZERO
syfy.com
If you like horror, you really need to check out SyFy’s Channel Zero. This is, by far, my favorite horror show. Each season is a new storyline, so you don’t have to watch them from the first season to the latest. In fact, as much as the man made of tooth is super scary, I would recommend starting with No-End House (Season 2), as that is just a wonderful story.
There’s really not a bad season, although I do admit sometime pacing of the show may be slow, but they all work out in the end.
Since I recently saw The Dream Door (Season 4), that’s still fresh in my mind. It’s about a girl who can bring her imagination to life, by creating these odd “dream doors”. The imaginary creatures in the show is frightening.
What I didn’t know is that these shows are based on something called “creepypastas”, a term that I’ve never heard of before. The word describes “horror-related legends or images that have been copied and pasted around the Internet.” If you’ve heard of Slenderman, he’s actually one of the more famous creepypasta creation.
NIGHTFLYERS
syfy.com/nightflyers
Also, on SyFy, is Nightflyers, the new television series based on George R.R. Martin’s book and short stories. If you think this is “Game of Thrones in Space”, it is not. This is basically a horror show, set in space.
Since I haven’t read the books, going in on the pilot was very confusing. The filmmaker decided to show us the ending of Nightflyers in the pilot, and for the remainder of the series, it’s building up to that endpoint. I did not love that, considering that I now have knowledge of who is a psycho and who will die.
The show is about the spaceship Nightflyer, flying to make contact with this alien species. They think their best chance of communicating with the aliens is to bring on a telepath (they’re called “L1” in this world). Unfortunately, the show decided to bring on a crazy, mentally unstable (even dangerous) L1.
Watching the show, and watching every character being tortured in some ways, made me think: why can’t they
Anyway, it’s a weird GRRM future, with computerized human, bee lady, laser spiders, etc. The ending of the first season kind of leaves it open for season 2... which I am assuming will continue the story (but I think it should’ve ended with Season 1).
INTO THE DARK
hulu.com/into-the-dark
Airing once a month, each episode of Into the Dark’s theme is about the month’s holiday. For example, the first episode, “The Body” took place on Halloween night. Since each episode is self-contained, it can be really long (some running over 90 minutes).
So far, all of the episodes are pretty quirky and interesting and worth checking out, if you have a Hulu subscription.
My least favorite episode is probably “New Year, New You”, simply because it’s about these girl internet celebrities, which I can’t really relate to at all.
With Valentine’s Day coming up, I’ll be very interested in seeing how the show deal with that holiday.
THE TERROR
amc.com/shows/the-terror
Although the ending to AMC’s The Terror wasn’t at all what I had expected, the lead up to the show is actually very horrifying. It’s a very slow burn, but definitely worth checking out if you like horror/drama shows.
I actually thought the show was interesting enough to buy on Digital, but probably won’t bother with the discs.
The first season is based on Dan Simmons’ 2007 best-selling novel, about Captain Sir John Franklin's lost expedition to the Arctic in 1845–1848. Since the show ended definitively, so I’m not exactly sure how AMC is bringing the show back with another season in 2019.
THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE
netflix.com
The Haunting of Hill House is a long, re-imagining of the Shirley Jackson’s 1959 novel of the same name. It’s a haunted house show, but actually the majority of the show is in flashback. The family all moved out of the haunted house years later... but events all lead them back to Hill House.
The show is recommended if you enjoy ghost stories, but sometime the whole supernatural-thing doesn’t really make a lot of sense to me. Everything ties up neatly at the end, where you get the whole explanation.
Even though the horror elements are truly terrifying, the heart of the show is the family.
WORST HORROR SHOWS OF 2018: I won’t go too deeply into it, but I really, really hated the last Fear the Walking Dead and latest The Walking Dead series. It’s a huge fall from grace, as these shows were, at one time, very good. So what happened? Since the showrunning brought over Morgan to Fear, they killed off the entire original cast and made Fear into Walking Dead. Meanwhile, Walking Dead continues its terrible Negan storyline. I’ve been sick of Negan, and it’s all we got for the past three years: Negan, Negan, Negan. Unfortunately, with Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) leaving the show (to star in his own Walking Dead movies), I “fear” that the Walking Dead will now become the Negan show. Yuck.
Also, Hulu’s Castle Rock is just not very good. The concept is pretty cool, especially because it’s based on the characters and stories of Stephen King... but the execution is just not that great. The same can be said for all of Stephen King’s TV adaptions (The Mist television show in 2017 or Under The Dome in 2015). King’s stories just don’t translate well to television, I guess.
NOT HORROR SHOWS OF 2018: This isn’t really a horror show, but everyone is saying that Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is “horror”. There may be elements of spirits and demons, but I think it’s just too cute to classify it as horror. The other “horror” show that everyone loves is Ash vs Evil Dead. While I am a fan of the movies, I think the show is just too goofy and funny to be horror. Maybe more comedy than horror. It’s not a great show, and I’m kind of glad that they have canceled the series (even though I own all three seasons on Bluray and digital!)
Read more: Comic book-related television shows (2018), Comic book-related television shows (2017), and DC Comics to Films (and TV) in 2016.
CHANNEL ZERO
syfy.com
If you like horror, you really need to check out SyFy’s Channel Zero. This is, by far, my favorite horror show. Each season is a new storyline, so you don’t have to watch them from the first season to the latest. In fact, as much as the man made of tooth is super scary, I would recommend starting with No-End House (Season 2), as that is just a wonderful story.
There’s really not a bad season, although I do admit sometime pacing of the show may be slow, but they all work out in the end.
Since I recently saw The Dream Door (Season 4), that’s still fresh in my mind. It’s about a girl who can bring her imagination to life, by creating these odd “dream doors”. The imaginary creatures in the show is frightening.
What I didn’t know is that these shows are based on something called “creepypastas”, a term that I’ve never heard of before. The word describes “horror-related legends or images that have been copied and pasted around the Internet.” If you’ve heard of Slenderman, he’s actually one of the more famous creepypasta creation.
|
Nightflyers
|
syfy.com/nightflyers
Also, on SyFy, is Nightflyers, the new television series based on George R.R. Martin’s book and short stories. If you think this is “Game of Thrones in Space”, it is not. This is basically a horror show, set in space.
Since I haven’t read the books, going in on the pilot was very confusing. The filmmaker decided to show us the ending of Nightflyers in the pilot, and for the remainder of the series, it’s building up to that endpoint. I did not love that, considering that I now have knowledge of who is a psycho and who will die.
The show is about the spaceship Nightflyer, flying to make contact with this alien species. They think their best chance of communicating with the aliens is to bring on a telepath (they’re called “L1” in this world). Unfortunately, the show decided to bring on a crazy, mentally unstable (even dangerous) L1.
Watching the show, and watching every character being tortured in some ways, made me think: why can’t they
Anyway, it’s a weird GRRM future, with computerized human, bee lady, laser spiders, etc. The ending of the first season kind of leaves it open for season 2... which I am assuming will continue the story (but I think it should’ve ended with Season 1).
|
Nightflyers
|
hulu.com/into-the-dark
Airing once a month, each episode of Into the Dark’s theme is about the month’s holiday. For example, the first episode, “The Body” took place on Halloween night. Since each episode is self-contained, it can be really long (some running over 90 minutes).
So far, all of the episodes are pretty quirky and interesting and worth checking out, if you have a Hulu subscription.
My least favorite episode is probably “New Year, New You”, simply because it’s about these girl internet celebrities, which I can’t really relate to at all.
With Valentine’s Day coming up, I’ll be very interested in seeing how the show deal with that holiday.
|
The Terror
|
amc.com/shows/the-terror
Although the ending to AMC’s The Terror wasn’t at all what I had expected, the lead up to the show is actually very horrifying. It’s a very slow burn, but definitely worth checking out if you like horror/drama shows.
I actually thought the show was interesting enough to buy on Digital, but probably won’t bother with the discs.
The first season is based on Dan Simmons’ 2007 best-selling novel, about Captain Sir John Franklin's lost expedition to the Arctic in 1845–1848. Since the show ended definitively, so I’m not exactly sure how AMC is bringing the show back with another season in 2019.
|
Haunting of Hill House
|
netflix.com
The Haunting of Hill House is a long, re-imagining of the Shirley Jackson’s 1959 novel of the same name. It’s a haunted house show, but actually the majority of the show is in flashback. The family all moved out of the haunted house years later... but events all lead them back to Hill House.
The show is recommended if you enjoy ghost stories, but sometime the whole supernatural-thing doesn’t really make a lot of sense to me. Everything ties up neatly at the end, where you get the whole explanation.
Even though the horror elements are truly terrifying, the heart of the show is the family.
WORST HORROR SHOWS OF 2018: I won’t go too deeply into it, but I really, really hated the last Fear the Walking Dead and latest The Walking Dead series. It’s a huge fall from grace, as these shows were, at one time, very good. So what happened? Since the showrunning brought over Morgan to Fear, they killed off the entire original cast and made Fear into Walking Dead. Meanwhile, Walking Dead continues its terrible Negan storyline. I’ve been sick of Negan, and it’s all we got for the past three years: Negan, Negan, Negan. Unfortunately, with Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) leaving the show (to star in his own Walking Dead movies), I “fear” that the Walking Dead will now become the Negan show. Yuck.
Also, Hulu’s Castle Rock is just not very good. The concept is pretty cool, especially because it’s based on the characters and stories of Stephen King... but the execution is just not that great. The same can be said for all of Stephen King’s TV adaptions (The Mist television show in 2017 or Under The Dome in 2015). King’s stories just don’t translate well to television, I guess.
NOT HORROR SHOWS OF 2018: This isn’t really a horror show, but everyone is saying that Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is “horror”. There may be elements of spirits and demons, but I think it’s just too cute to classify it as horror. The other “horror” show that everyone loves is Ash vs Evil Dead. While I am a fan of the movies, I think the show is just too goofy and funny to be horror. Maybe more comedy than horror. It’s not a great show, and I’m kind of glad that they have canceled the series (even though I own all three seasons on Bluray and digital!)
