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| Netflix’s Below: Is the Giant Squid Real or CGI? The Creature Explained. |
Netflix’s Below draws its horror from a creature that sounds like something invented to keep sailors awake at night, but the giant squid haunting the Newfoundland town of Snook’s Arm has a surprising connection to the real world. The mysterious animal is based on Architeuthis dux, a genuine deep-sea species, although the enormous creature seen in the series is likely brought to life through CGI. The distinction matters because Below builds much of its tension around the possibility that something extraordinary is lurking beneath the water, while leaving viewers to wonder how much of the nightmare could actually exist.
The Netflix series introduces the creature as part of a growing mystery surrounding Snook’s Arm. Strange events begin affecting the community, including dangerous ice that appears to infect people and drive them towards their deaths. As questions mount about the town and its residents, the presence beneath the water becomes increasingly difficult to ignore.
For Calvin Penney, the creature is particularly unsettling because his connection to it stretches back to childhood. What initially feels like a supernatural threat gradually takes on a more scientific explanation, although that does little to make the situation any less frightening.
The giant squid in Below is based on a real animal, rather than an entirely fictional monster dreamed up for television. The species, Architeuthis dux, inhabits the ocean's depths and is famous for its enormous size. Giant squids can reach around 30–40 feet in length, depending on how they are measured, making them among the most imposing invertebrates on Earth.
That is already a substantial amount of animal to encounter in the water. Most people would struggle to remain calm after spotting one tentacle, let alone discovering that the rest of the creature might be considerably larger than the boat they are standing in.
However, the existence of giant squid does not mean the creature in Below behaves exactly like its real-life counterpart. The series takes a genuine marine animal and places it inside a fictional horror story, giving it a more threatening role in the lives of Snook’s Arm's residents. Its apparent ability to cause widespread destruction helps turn an elusive deep-sea species into a formidable presence. Nature provides the starting point, but television supplies the nightmare.
So, is the giant squid in Netflix’s Below real or CGI? The most plausible explanation is that the creature's on-screen appearance relies on computer-generated imagery, particularly when it needs to look enormous or interact with the surrounding environment.
The supplied information does not include official confirmation of the production's visual-effects methods, so it would be premature to claim that every appearance was created digitally. Nevertheless, CGI is a logical way to depict an animal of this scale without having to put a real squid anywhere near the production.
The series also avoids showing the animal in its entirety for much of the story. Instead, viewers catch glimpses of its enormous eye and sweeping tentacles, while other scenes focus on the consequences of its presence. Boats are threatened, structures collapse and the townspeople struggle to understand what they are facing. The camera often leaves the audience with fragments rather than a complete picture, allowing the creature to remain mysterious even after its existence becomes harder to deny.
That restraint is an effective storytelling choice. Showing a monster in full detail can make it easier for viewers to judge its appearance, movements and limitations. Keeping it partly concealed allows the imagination to do some of the work, and the human brain is perfectly capable of turning an incomplete glimpse into something considerably worse. Sometimes, the most frightening thing on screen is the part the camera refuses to show. It is also a useful reminder that a monster does not need endless close-ups to justify its place in a horror series.
The approach makes practical sense, too. Creating a convincing giant squid for every scene could require extensive visual-effects work, particularly when the creature interacts with boats, buildings or the surrounding sea. By concentrating on individual body parts and the destruction left behind, the production can suggest a much larger animal without repeatedly presenting the entire design. The audience understands the scale of the threat through its consequences rather than needing a detailed tour of every tentacle.
For the creature's visible details, a production could draw on scientific material and available footage of real giant squid to help establish plausible anatomy and movement. Digital effects can then exaggerate particular features to suit the atmosphere and action.
The result can remain recognisable as a real species while making the animal appear more menacing than viewers might expect from a documentary. However, without a confirmed breakdown of Below's production techniques, the exact balance between CGI, practical effects and other methods remains unclear.
There is also a significant difference between the real animal and the fictional threat presented by the series. Giant squid are elusive deep-sea creatures, and their biology should not be confused with the behaviour of a horror villain.
Below uses the squid as the centre of a story about danger, fear and a community struggling to make sense of events beyond its control. Its more aggressive qualities serve the drama rather than establish how the species ordinarily behaves. The science gives the creature credibility; the fiction gives it a reason to terrorise an entire town.
My opinion: Below makes a smart choice by keeping its giant squid partly hidden. A full reveal might have delivered a spectacular visual moment, but it could also have turned the mystery into an ordinary monster showcase. The glimpses of its eye and tentacles leave room for the audience to imagine just how enormous it might be, which is arguably more effective than showing everything at once. I also like the contrast between a real animal and the exaggerated danger built around it.
Giant squid are fascinating enough without inventing extra reasons to fear the ocean, yet the series clearly wants us to reconsider that peaceful-looking stretch of water. Its biggest success is making the unknown feel more frightening than the visible threat. The occasional destruction helps, of course; apparently, even a quiet Newfoundland town cannot enjoy a normal day when the sea has other plans.
Ultimately, the giant squid in Netflix’s Below is inspired by a real species, while its frightening portrayal is part of the series’ fictional storytelling. CGI is a likely explanation for its larger on-screen appearances, but the precise effects process has not been confirmed by the information available here.
The combination of scientific inspiration, selective reveals and carefully staged destruction helps maintain the suspense without requiring the creature to appear in full view. What do you think: would Below have been scarier if it had shown the entire giant squid, or is leaving most of it hidden the better decision? Share your thoughts on whether the series gets the balance between real marine biology and television horror right.