I didn't have a nature documentary on my radar of Halloween specials to be hyped for, but after watching Netflix's first trailer for "Nightmares of Nature," which was released today, it has shot to the top of my shortlist. Horror studio Blumhouse and natural history producer Plimsoll Productions are teaming up to tackle the real-life horrors lurking in the great outdoors, reimagining natural history filmmaking through a horror lens.
Having grown up hearing Appalachian folk stories, nature is already plenty scary as far as I'm concerned. But I'm always fascinated to learn about new real-life creatures that are pure nightmare fuel, like the "zombie" fungus that inspired "The Last of Us," and this two-part docuseries seems geared toward just that. It'll travel to "a place where trees bleed, zombie snails dwell and vampire fish reign supreme," Plimsoll, best known for "A Real Bug's Life" and "Queer Planet," said in a press release. As if I needed even more reasons to be wary of water. The first season, titled “Cabin in the Woods,” premieres on September 30, and the second season, “Lost in the Jungle,” follows on October 28. Both seasons consist of three 45-minute-long episodes.
"Today I'm going to tell you a scary story," says narrator Maya Hawke in the trailer. "Where the trees have eyes, and every sound could be the last you ever hear." The "Stranger Things" and "Fear Street" star has quickly cemented her place as Netflix's scream queen to watch, and she's the latest in the streamer's elite list of nature documentary narrators, which includes Barack Obama and David Attenborough.
The official synopsis for "Nightmares in Nature" reads: "Set in the perfectly haunting world of the North American woods. Our three characters, a soon-to-be-mother mouse, a young bachelor raccoon, and a froglet who has seen terrible things, quickly discover how scary the woods truly are and find themselves in search of sanctuary. They stumble upon an old cabin in the woods, thinking it a safe haven, they soon discover their nightmares have really only just begun."
Two haunting biomes to explore this Halloween
Rather than focus on a single location or species, each season of "Nightmares of Nature" will follow three characters scrambling to survive a uniquely haunting biome. "Cabin in the Woods" unfolds in the eerie world of the North American wilderness, where three tiny critters — a mouse on the verge of motherhood, a young bachelor raccoon, and a froglet whose already survived its share of horrors — learn just how sinister the forest can be. Their search for shelter leads them to a weathered old cabin. But once inside, they realize that the true horror is only beginning.
"Lost in the Jungle" heads south to the rainforests of Central America, a place teeming with more creative ways to die than anywhere else on the planet. A young opossum, a newly hatched iguana, and a jumping spider come across an abandoned laboratory deep in the jungle, which turns out to be a labyrinth where new monsters hide behind every corner.
The set-up sounds surprisingly scripted for a nature docuseries, which could very well come off as more hokey than genuinely scary. Then again, horror and camp go hand in hand, so maybe that's exactly the cord they're trying to strike. I've had a blast with Blumhouse's more comedic horror movies like "Happy Death Day" and "M3GAN," and the studio's partnership with such a bona fide natural history producer seems like it has serious potential.
“It’s only natural to be scared about the things that go bump in the night, but 'Nightmares of Nature' isn’t a projection of the supernatural. Once you start looking at the natural world, you will find things as terrifying as anything in a horror movie,” said Alan Eyres, head of Plimsoll USA, of the project when it was first announced in 2023. “To tell that story, we could not hope for better collaborators than Blumhouse. Combining the world’s greatest horror filmmakers with some of the world’s best natural history storytellers is a unique opportunity to create a more visceral, emotional point of entry to nature than anything we’ve seen before.”
"Nightmares of Nature" isn't streaming for a few more weeks, so if you're looking for more streaming recommendations in the meantime, be sure to check out everything new on Netflix this month. Or check out our round-up of the best horror movies on Netflix to tide you over until spooky season.
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