The UK has a long history of producing horror. Hammer Studios was founded in 1934 and has been an internationally recognized horror producer ever since. However, it isn't just horror movies that come out of the UK, there is also an incredible array of television horror that has made its way onto airwaves over the years.
With shows about vampires, werewolves, and ghosts cohabiting, stories of priests battling the supernatural, and tales of a ghost-based apocalypse there's plenty of genre fare for fans to binge and for those unfamiliar with it to dive into. These are some of the best televisual horror shows that the UK has to offer, including some that audiences outside the UK may not have heard of.
Ultraviolet
Before True Blood, Stephen Moyer could be seen in the 1998 tv serial Ultraviolet as splendidly coiffed vampire Jack. Joining Moyer's incredible hair was none other than Idris Elba (Vaughan) and Jack Davenport (Michael) in a world where vampires exist and the government and the Vatican have teamed up to hunt them. When Michael's best friend Jack disappears the night before his wedding, Michael doesn't realize he is about to be drawn into the world of vampires and their experimentation on humans.
Through his connection with Jack, Michael ends up aiding the governments' team of vampire hunters in investigating just what nightmares the vampires are planning for the human race, including humans with synthetic blood and a vampiric disease spreading through the population. Ultraviolet only ran for 6 episodes, with Fox attempting to create an American version in 2000. It didn't get past the pilot. Is Ultraviolet a little dated? Yes, but it is also a fascinating blend of Blade and Underworld that absolutely needed more episodes.
Jekyll
2007 miniseries Jekyll was the brainchild of Doctor Who writer and showrunner Steven Moffat. Conceived as a sequel to the original novella, Jekyll tells the story of Tom Jackman (James Nesbitt), a man who has been experiencing some terrifying transformations into a violent, animalistic alter-ego. Unsure of what is happening, Jackman has separated himself from his family, hired a psychiatric nurse to watch over him, and created a fortified basement to protect those he loves.
It turns out that Jackman is a direct descendant of the original Dr. Jekyll and has inherited his transformative curse. As the series goes on, it features an absolutely stellar performance from Nesbitt as the gleeful, impulsive, and violent Hyde who at one point in the series kills a lion simply to assert his dominance. Jekyll is a blood-drenched romp through a ridiculous premise that with a weaker writer and cast absolutely could not have worked. Thankfully this one gets it right.
The Fades
Starring a who's who of British talent before they hit the stratosphere, The Fades was a short-lived show about the coming apocalypse. The show starred Iain De Caestecker as Paul, Daniel Kaluuya as Mac, and Natalie Dormer as Sarah. Paul is a loser plagued by apocalyptic visions of ash-covered dead landscapes. He soon finds out that he can in fact see what the series dubs "Fades". The portals between realms for the dead to pass over have ceased working, trapping the spirits of the dead on Earth. One spirit, Polus (Joe Dempsie), has become consumed with vengeance and destruction of the world as he clings to the light of life.
While dubbing those that can see Fades as "Angelics" is a bit trite, the show itself is a tense and scary drive towards an apocalyptic fate that seems unavoidable. The acting is stunning, Polus is terrifying in his pursuit of life and the end will leave viewers shaken and wishing there was more.
Dead Set
Created by the mind of Charlie Brooker, the mind that brought the world Black Mirror and the tv series Newswipe and Screenwipe, Dead Set is a satirical look at the world of reality tv and what happens when the zombie apocalypse comes, but people are living in a bubble. Set on the night of eviction in the Big Brother UK house and featuring the actual presenter and previous contestants, things go from bland reality television to a nightmare gore-fest in the blink of an eye as the rapidly spreading zombie infection sweeping the nation finds the isolated studio.
Unknown to the contestants in the house, bloody devastation is being delivered to those outside the house while they bicker about inconsequential nonsense. Filled with inane reality tv personalities, social politics, and a glimpse at true humanity, Dead Set was an intelligent and gore-soaked entry into the saturated zombie genre.
Being Human
Following the unlikely friendship between a ghost, a vampire, and a werewolf, Being Human was one of the most innovative and affecting series to come out of the BBC in a long time. Ghost Annie (Lenora Crichlow), vampire Mitchell (Aidan Turner), and werewolf George (Russell Tovey) are housemates in Bristol trying to navigate a supernatural world through the lens of "normal" humanity. At the core of the show, it is about the chemistry of the main 3 characters and their search for belonging in a world that they don't belong in. Along the way, there just happens to be blood, mayhem, and absolutely agonizing to watch werewolf transformations. Russell Tovey sells the agony of his transformations in a way that is almost impossible to watch.
Though the final 2 seasons got away from the core of the show and suffered for it, the initial 3 seasons remain some of the best television produced in the late 2000s. Needless to say, the American remake didn't quite capture the heart of the original.