Dark fantasy was formerly a niche genre with a relatively small selection of TV shows and movies, but the development of cartoons for adults, along with more creative uses of CGI, has made it more accessible. Myth and legend are more popular than ever as entertainment concepts, and many contemporary shows use elements of dark fantasy in their settings.
Dark fantasy is even more popular in other countries, where a different culture or language can interpret the occult, horror, or mystery in a unique way. Every one of the following television series was originally filmed in a language other than English, but the good news is that dubs and subtitled versions exist for virtually all of them.
6DarK
A Terrifying Vision Of Time Travel
The show is well-named,describing a dark, industrial fantasythat integrates social drama with ancient magic. This chilling story starts in a small town where everyone knows each other a bit too well, especially the adults, who are hiding no small amount of gossip from their spouses and kids.
It’s a typical story of small-town romance and heartbreak until a child goes missing, and it’s not the first time it’s happened. The incidents are connected to a mysterious cave in the forest outside of town, and theories include everything from ghosts to trolls until it’s revealed the cave’s tunnels make time travel possible. One character takes a whole lifetime, and maybe even several if the viewer wants to do the math, to try and unravel the cave’s mysteries.
5Les Revenants
A Mysterious Riddle Of The Returning Dead
It’s known as The Returned in English, and it’s a show that made an impact on North American audiences despite the language barrier. As the title suggests, it’s about a group of people who return to the small French town of their origin, but the unusual part is that they’re coming back from the dead.
These aren’t ancient ghosts or zombies, but people who have died inaccidents, of diseases, or suicide, that appear in town again as if nothing happened. However, each of these “returns” had a tragic death or was implicated in a dark secret, and the plot thickens when other strange things start to happen, like the loss of water in the city reservoir, which reveals dead animals and a church steeple among other sordid things.
4Beforeigners
A Fantastic Twist On A Real Social Issue
It’s present-day Oslo, and a new wave of foreigners has arrived in Bjørvika Bay, but the twist is that these are immigrants from the past. People from Victorian Era London, the Stone Age,and of course, Vikings, are coming to Norway, and most of the story is about how they fit into present-day life.
There’s some comedy here with the “fish out of water” motif, but there’s plenty of horror and mystery as well, especially as the locals start to figure out the secrets of time travel for themselves. Season 2 focuses on a series of murders connected to Jack the Ripper, who is scary enough to intimidate even a Viking.
3Death Note
A Chilling Vision Of The Afterlife
The animated series from acclaimed studio Madhouse, which dates from 2006, is a legendary adaptation that still holds up to the present day. Although not all of the live-action attempts to bring the series to live-action were successful, the Japanese series from 2015 got positive reviews from fans and critics and uses the original manga as its source material instead of the famous cartoon.
An in-depth study of the mechanics of the Japanese mythology and occult when it comes to the afterlife,Death Noteisn’t about what happens after a person does, but how they meet their end in the first place. The main character, who is named Light in a bit of literary irony, is a model student and son until the power to control life and death falls into his hands, and viewers can watch his transformation from a bright, eager student to a psychotic monster.
2Katla
The Real Land Of Ice And Fire
Much of the heat and power in Iceland is generated by thermal power, which originates in the hot springs and volcanic activity under the island. Katla is one of these volcanoes and a real place in Iceland,which makes this dark storyall the more immersive.
Volcanic eruptions can last months, and in this story, Katla has been erupting for a full year and the nearby town of Vík has almost been completely evacuated except for a few stubborn holdouts. Then people start to emerge from the volcanic ash, but they’re from the past, and stories begin to circulate about “changelings” or magical creatures from folklore that take human form.
1Kingdom
A period dramathat takes place in the 17th century, also known as the Joseon Dynasty, the sets and costumes are appealing enough on their own. In this story, there’s also the adventure of a prince as he fights to free his homeland from both an oppressive, corrupt government and the grip of a zombie plague.
At first, it seems that the king is sick with smallpox or chickenpox, but rumors start to spread that he’s passed away. His son, the Crown Prince, demands to see him but can’t get past his young stepmother. Filial piety demands the prince obey his parents, but since he’s allowed to leave the palace, he decides to search for the doctor who treated his father to discover the truth.
