Dan Stevens Reveals How 'The Terror: Devil in Silver' Exposes America's Failing Mental Healthcare System

The second episode of The Terror: Devil in Silver contains spoilers.

The Terror: Devil in Silver unfolds within the fictional New Hyde Psychiatric Hospital, a setting so dark and oppressive that it immediately raises questions about reality, truth, and the reliability of what viewers see. Its lead character, Pepper (played by Dan Stevens), is far from a trustworthy narrator. Yet the series boldly acknowledges that the most terrifying aspect of this story isn’t the supernatural threat lurking in its halls—it’s the hospital itself.

New Hyde represents a waking nightmare not because of monsters, but because it embodies the failures of America’s contemporary mental healthcare system. Understaffed, overcrowded, and underfunded, the hospital leaves its most vulnerable and marginalized patients isolated and abandoned. The system fails both those inside its walls and the society that allows it to exist. The horror isn’t just in the setting—it’s in the reality it reflects.

The series is adapted from Victor LaValle’s novel of the same name, a work known for blending social commentary with horror. LaValle’s storytelling often uses fantastical elements to explore real-world issues. However, he notes that the TV adaptation approaches these themes with a subtler touch. “In the book, there are times when the narrator—really, just me—is saying it all very clearly, right? Maybe it’s a little on the nose even, which is fair,” LaValle tells Den of Geek. “But when you get to see these human beings and start to care about them as human beings, you don’t need to hit that hammer quite so hard.”

“You’re already seeing and thinking about them [each] as people, who you know have a whole life in them, but after their morning meds or their midday meal, they’re just sitting in a chair, sort of lost. And I don’t have to be told what was lost. I can see what was lost. That’s the beauty of working with actors of this caliber. Their humanity becomes the way to voice that rage and that desperation and that sadness [from the book]. Because I feel like if your heart is open to it, when you see the journey of these characters, you can’t come away from this feeling, ‘Well, sure, things are fine. The system is perfect.’”

As Pepper becomes increasingly trapped within New Hyde’s oppressive walls, Devil in Silver confronts the disturbing practices that plague real-world psychiatric facilities. “That’s what struck me when I first read the book,” says Dan Stevens, who portrays Pepper. The series forces audiences to confront an uncomfortable truth: the real horror isn’t supernatural—it’s the systemic neglect and abuse embedded in America’s mental healthcare system.