Isle Of fright

Jude Law and Emily Watson star in a groundbreaking psychological thriller set on a sinister and secretive island

- SEAN MARLAND

Jude Law stars in a unique TV drama this week when he plays a man fighting for survival in Sky Atlantic’s gripping psychological thriller The Third Day, set on a mysterious island where a creepy community will do anything to protect its way of life.

Written by Dennis Kelly, who created Emmy-winning C4 show Utopia, the groundbreaking tale, produced in collaboration with HBO, will be told by three standalone but interconnected stories, beginning with three episodes collectively entitled ‘Summer’ (see panel, right).

The story follows Law’s character, Sam, as he arrives on a mysterious island off the English coast, which is linked to the mainland by a causeway that disappears under the waves for most of the day when the tide comes in.

UNSETTLING

‘I wanted to make a series that was unsettling and disturbing, but also spoke to fears that ran deeper than horror,’ says Kelly.

‘The themes of the series have long been obsessions of mine. It’s about loss and hope, and how both of those things can distort the mind in surprising and brutal ways.’

In the first episode, Sam arrives on the island after helping one of the area’s younger inhabitants . But he soon finds ghosts from his past returning to haunt him when he misses his chance to leave the island and get back home to his family.