📺 Do you have a beast within? As you’re engrossed in Netflix’s latest psychological thriller The Beast in Me, you won’t be able but help but question what you’re capable of. Starring Claire Danes and Mathew Rhys, the eight-episode series is a haunting depiction of what happens when subtle depravity takes over. It’s a show that keeps you on the edge of your seat while probing the edges of what impulsive egos and a thirst for vengeance can do.

Danes delivers a raw, skillful performance as Agatha Wiggs, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author who, four years after a devastating loss, is a recluse. She is two years behind on a book manuscript, suffering from writer’s block and low motivation. Enter Nile Jarvis, played by Mathew Rhys, a b’naire who moves in next door to her and who once made headlines for alleged involvement in the disappearance of his wife Madison. Agatha and Nile get off on the wrong foot when she shuts down his attempts to get her signature on a petition for a new jogging path in their neighborhood. But within the span of three days, her spark is revived.

Chillingly portrayed by Rhys, Nile is blunt, witty, and annoyingly self-assertive. His dynamic with Agatha drives the whole plot: Nile notes he sees a “bloodlust” in her, while Agatha is intrigued by his murky past. Almost every time the two clash, an ominous “Will he do it?” hangs in the air.

The show’s sharp angles and tense, violent shots make it not just uncomfortable but also fascinatingly unnerving. The opening scene alone is distressing enough: Agatha in her spacious mansion, anxious and restless, with sudden cuts of the brown-reddish waters filling up her drains — though the reason, bad plumbing, is harmless enough — and the grating barking of her new neighbor’s aggressive security dogs creating an overwhelming introduction. The show maintains this atmosphere with deliberate cinematography — thrillingly dark and cold.

WHERE TO WATCH- The Beast In Me is streaming on Netflix. You can watch the trailer on YouTube (runtime: 2:05).

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