by
Kristin Battestella
Guillermo
Del Toro (Pacific Rim,
Crimson Peak) executive
produced the 2014 FX debut of The
Strain –
a thirteen episode vampire
zombie plague thriller based upon Del Toro and Chuck Hogan's (Prince
of Thieves) own novel
trilogy. While the series starts strong with scientific updates on
traditional horror lore, the pacing flounders in the latter half with
muddled, drawn out storytelling.
CDC
Canary Team members Ephraim Goodweather (Corey Stoll), Nora Martinez
(Mia Maestro), and Jim Kent (Sean Astin) investigate the strange
circumstances surrounding a plane landing in New York. Everyone on
board is seemingly dead, and a mysterious box of earth lies in its
cargo hold. Despite plague symptoms and infectious worm-like
creatures, higher up authorities dismiss Eph's insistence for a
quarantine thanks to the powerful but ill mogul Eldritch Palmer
(Jonathan Hyde). Rodent inspector Vasiliy Fet (Kevin Durand),
however, realizes larger vermin are afoot, and ex-con Augustin “Gus”
Elizalde (Miguel Gomez) reluctantly takes jobs for the bizarre Thomas
Eichhorst (Richard Sammel) – who has tormented the supposedly
unassuming antiques dealer Abraham Setrakian (David Bradley) in the
past. Fortunately, Setrakian wields a silver sword cane, and having
seen this kind of vampire killer previously, uses his strigoi wisdom
to help Eph stop this outbreak before it is too late.
A
super-sized seventy-two minute “Night Zero” written and directed
by Del Toro starts The
Strain with
waxing on hunger,
unquenchable thirst, and love – the forces that make us human.
Airplane tedium, radio chatter, familiar travel fears, and ornery
passengers create realism, grounding the ominous scares in the cargo
hold with jurisdiction, stupidity, press, and red tape. Family
troubles versus work priorities layer values, packing in smart
dialogue and character backgrounds without being rushed or in your
face. Spiritual character names and “Holy Jesus!” exclaims over
creepy jar specimens and biohazard suits invoke a whiff of religion
alongside doctors talking of 210 souls on board this modern Dementer
ala
Horror Express.
Well shot horror movie accents set
the scene amid numerous locations, disaster response action,
quarantine technicalities, and paranormal simmer. The
Strain uses
horror to mirror politics and acknowledges
public panic, PR responses, famous survivors, and disaster
containment while building suspense and updating traditional vampire
lore with contemporary science and plague cliffhangers. Television
reports and leaked documents are not to be trusted – nor is the
titular coffin decorated with Faust
demonography
in “The Box.” It's
tough to get everyone's name on The
Strain, however,
the not all white, not all speaking English characters are real
people dealing with prejudice to match rather than stock Hollywood
pretties. Supposed criminals go to mass and respect their families
while the villains at the top are more concerned with looking in
control as they cover their asses. Shrewd commentary on the press
making a scoundrel for the public to detest sets off terse
conversations and hatred coming full circle as the empty body bags,
zombies at the morgue, and bath tub body horror mounts. Selfish
bureaucrats look the other way to tentacles and bone cracking
transformations – orchestrating suffering to belie the facade in
“Gone Smooth.”
The
Strain may
start slow for some viewers, but we are now invested in the players
even before the horror escalates. Be
it cravings for blood, liver transplants, custody battles, or
sobriety, everyone is trapped by their own needs – not to mention
the intrusive media and corrupt disease officials. The
Strain
tells its scary story with authentic
hopes, wills, and weakness rather than expected television gimmicks,
and frightful moments of invasive violence create scientifically
based monsters for 21st century audiences in “It's Not for
Everyone.” Basement autopsies and pets beware disrupt rosaries and
prayers yet gruesome new appendages and genital mutations become
increasingly intriguing. Blood on snow, husbands and wives that can't
do what needs to be done, dishonest team members – if you love
someone, how far are you willing to go? Hackers and lying politicians
are just as dangerous as biological agents, and the ye olde Van
Helsing and front line doctors lock horns over how to proceed in
“Runaways.” This strigoi vampire history is tough for men of
science to accept! Instead of listening to rat catchers, Spanish
traditions, or our elders when they say to stay away from monsters,
today these horrors demand documentation, cell phone video, and proof
splashed upon the unreliable internet – idle inaction as this
tiered metamorphosis grows from plague to vampires to zombies in
“Occultation.” Apocalyptic gloom, biblical pestilence, and
contemporary virus talk refresh the vampire genre while leaving the
comforts of sunlight to save the day. Unless there's a gosh darn
lunar eclipse imminent that is! External planetary zooms further show
how small humans are once we're the tasty victims chained in a padded
room, and The Strain reminds
us this outbreak will get worse before it gets better. Can we protect
loved ones when families won't have it? A plague that isn't on the
news means it isn't really happening, right? Nail gun action matches
slowing or rapid heart rates as the untrustworthy phones, backward
security systems, and interrogations help things fall apart in “For
Services Rendered.” Sirens, bridges shutting down, cabbies with a
gun and silver bullets...oh yeah.
SARS
masks in the crowded subway station keep the fears immediate for
“Creatures of the
Night” while vampires and virus debates reveal similar preferences
for lying dormant in dark, damp areas. Looting is small in comparison
to what's at stake once zombie movie aspects pick up the outbreak
action. Our everyday heroes are besieged – fighting off the
approaching, growling prowlers with rudimentary weapons. With
teamwork, they can get the job done, and it's great to see characters
who have been apart on The
Strain finally meet. Will
they work together or is it everyone for themselves? What do you do
when one of your own is infected? Do you treat a victim or save one's
soul? Fortunately, a convenience store is a good place to hold up,
and UV light is your friend against a smart monster mob. Back room
surgery, however, is to no avail. Everyone on The
Strain is fair game, and
people must be smart with Macguyver tricks and proactive measures
against the increasing enemy and disturbing child attacks. Once noble
citizens must sneak into corporate offices, investigate underground
tunnels for vampires, and experiment with science and weapons –
breaking the rules they once felt paramount to save all they hold
dear. Hefty decision making comes in “The Third Rail” with plans
to attack and big, matricide choices thanks to not the fantastic but
regular human sickness. Do we leave family behind or commit a worse
sin? World Trade Center ties give The
Strain a firm reality while
containers packed with strigoi are apparently being bought and
shipped in a quite creepy, but gosh darnnit not surprisingly
corporate turn. Science versus bible quotes accent the tiptoeing into
the lair as everyone gets on the same page for some great
confrontations. Evil so easily tricks the well-intentioned does it
not? An almost Hammer-esque sixties flashback sets off “Last Rites”
as personal parallels are strongly felt past and present. This battle
has been going on longer than we think, and there's no time for
current stubbornness and disrespect amid such bittersweet loss.
Sadly,
The Strain degenerates
somewhat when too many disposable characters and
dead end tangents behave
in dumb horror movie fashion and disrupt
the interesting but unanswered
vampire hive hierarchy designs, creature differences, and mystery
SWAT teams. The solid Holocaust flashback scenes should also not be
intercut with the modern narrative as if they were just any standard
B plot. I don't like Holocaust material as it is, and splicing it
with horror plots compromises the real world impact – this
provenance should have been told in its entirety in one episode. The
Strain falls
into an alternating
pattern with the same character plots together – which forces
important developments to wait while others catch up – and the
storylines
become increasingly busy and repetitive. Redundant scares aren't
surprising the fourth time around in “The Disappeared,” and The
Strain sags
when boosting annoying child questions and plots. The audience
doesn't need any rabies for people explanations, and more
inconsistencies creep into the debates, grief, and jailbreak
infections. Some victims
are infected by a little nick while others unafflicted fight hand to
hand versus the tentacles, and these
later episodes becoming increasingly padded with either extreme as
needed. Maybe there are biological time differences for a strigoi
turning, but a serious amount of artistic license plays a part as
“Loved Ones” further
sidetracks The Strain with
convenient laptop uses, secondary A/B plot holes, and unrealistic
turns. Isn't anybody getting out of dodge to warn somebody about this
huge happening in New York City? Where is the military? Secretary of
Health quarantines and National Guard calls comes too late – as
does an attempt to broadcast information. Shouldn't a way to call for
help have been the first course of action, not last? Surely, these
intelligent vampires could have looked up everyone's addresses and
come knocking on some doors much sooner, too. Although the miniseries
styled international ensemble represents all walks of life and the
characters themselves are well done, the show would have been a lot
shorter – and maybe should have been only ten episodes – had
several plots and players been woven tighter. Half the survivors are
completely superfluous with stray shock stories wasting time The
Strain doesn't
have to spare. “The
Master” finale does tie up some loose ends by pulling together
speakeasy secret passages and survivor connections, but such obvious
information and smart uses of sunlight feel unnecessarily delayed
just to entice for the second season. You can get away with that on
the page, but on television the string along action becomes too
chaotic, ending The Strain
with poorly choreographed
fights and a vampire turf war voiceover.
Ephraim
Goodweather is a fittingly ironic name for Corey Stoll's (House of
Cards) relatable CDC doctor reluctant to choose between his
falling apart family and work commitments. Eph is frank with the
press on the job yet has to be the bigger man and leave his family
happy without him. Drinking questions are thrown in his face, and Eph
can't convince the FBI to just consider the possibility of an
outbreak – making viewers glad when he gets to say I told you so.
The family angles do become too
cliché as the season goes on, unfortunately slowing the main
story down while The Strain decides whether these side
characters are important or not. Such uneveness compromises Eph at
times, like when he sleeps with a woman one moment but professes to
love his wife in the next. Fortunately, this scientist is thrust out
of his element with swords and medieval monsters thanks to David
Bradley's (Harry Potter) tough pawn shop owner Abraham
Setrakian. Our Armenian Jew Holocaust survivor has seen these strigoi
before as a young craftsman learning how to stay alive, and his old
fashioned ways are a pleasant marker amid the contemporary battles.
After all Setrakian's witnessed, we don't blame him for his chopping
heads with a sword first and the heck with CDC rules after crusty
attitude. He vomits at the gore but Sean Astin (Lord of the Rings)
as Jim Kent plays the fence when it comes to doing the right thing
thanks to an understandably sick wife behind his reasons. What do you
expect him to do but what any one of us would have done? Jim is the
audience layman and sums up the scares quite plainly, inducing dry
chuckles to alleviate the tension. We hope Samwise will make amends,
but will it be too late? Likewise Mia Maestro (Frida) as Nora
Martinez cracks and can't always handle The Strain's
gruesome or deaths. They are supposed to be doctors helping
people, right? Nora cares deeply, but doesn't need a man to tell her
what to do. She researchers her own information and shares her input
with Eph against superiors and red tape. Though reluctant to believe
what's happening – much less fire a gun or kill – Nora must
protect her mother while on the run and accepts the necessary
defiance of their 'do no harm' creed.
Kevin
Durand's (Lost) Vasiliy Fet has a thankless job as a city
exterminator aka rat catcher. However, he's quite well educated and
has a sense of humor about his work. Fet can be both harsh to the
uppity deserving it and kind to others in need – he knows what's
happening below is a sign of worse to come and to hell with those who
disagree with him. He does what he has to do without help from
others, but comes to respect Setrakian's knowledge and ingenuity in
this fight. Miguel Gomez' (Southpaw) Gus Elizalde is also
doing the best he can to get legit and help his family now that he's
out of juvenile prison. He quickly grows suspicious of Eichhorst and
wants out of his dirty work, but, like most of us, he just plum needs
the cash. When his friend is infected and the prisoners are chained
together, the cops see rap sheets rather than what's really
happening, naturally. Yes, how do you stop a plague from running
rampant in a jailhouse? I know there is a reason for it, however, I
wish Gus wasn't separate from the other main storylines. His
literally bumping into another main cast member on the street is not
enough. Thankfully, Richard Sammel (Inglourious Basterds) as
the not quite breathing Thomas Eichhorst is wonderfully creepy unto
himself with a Nazi to the core defense of the Reich and a suave,
godless collaborator veneer. He counters every argument with a
justifiable defense and is frighteningly not wrong when he says
people accept the choice to suffer and comply rather than die.
Eichhorst's strong arm and menace increases as The Strain goes
on, and Jonathan Hyde's (Jumanji) terminal magnate
Eldritch Palmer wishes he were as ruthless. He believes in a higher
power and thinks The Master will reward him with immortality, but
faith in evil or one's own wealth and power may not get you very far
in the end. We should have seen more of Roger Cross (24) as
Palmer's loyal but suspicious aide Fitzwilliam, and Ruta Gedmintas
(The Tudors) as regretful hacker Dutch Velders is a strong
character with superb chemistry who's story is dealt with too late.
Jack Kesy (Baywatch) as the goth musician Gabriel Bolivar and
Regina King (American Crime) as his manager Ruby are also
underutilized – The Strain glaringly
derails by conveniently forgetting to check up on his
storyline much, much sooner.
Fortunately,
fine cinematography and cinematic editing anchor The Strain's
usual forty five minute
episodes. Viewer discretion is advised alongside brief title credits
with bloody smears on white tiles and a fitting sense of
medical gone wrong. Onscreen locations and time stamp countdowns with
the occasional pop up text messages are nicer than having to read
tiny print on a dated phone screen, and the realistic mix of
languages, Spanish lyrics, and cultural accents match the city
locales. The antique store base provides a sense of old patina hidden
in the borough, contrasting the bright yellow warning tape,
flashlights, bio gear, and technology screens, laptops, and
communications. Simple buzzing sounds, ringing noises, “Did you
hear that?” calls, and recoils over ammonia smells invoke more
senses than obnoxious jump scare sounds while slimy tentacles, oozing
worms, slushy squirts, and gurgling slurps add to the monstrous.
Autopsy saws and dissections increase the body horror as Neil Diamond
tunes, pop music cues, and nursery rhymes create irony. Colorful
orange and green hues pop during night scenery, drafting a super
sized count on acid, comic book style, however dark tunnels and UV
lighting can be tough to see at times. There's also a subtle 'Spot
the Cross' thread in The Strain thanks to necklaces,
crucifixes, altars, and other veiled spiritual reminders seemingly
hidden in every scene – good visually counteracting evil. Several
common directors and writers doing multiple episodes each including
Keith Gordon (Dexter), Peter Weller (Sons of Anarchy),
David Weddle and Bradley Thompson (Battlestar Galactica),
David Semel (American Dreams), Regina Corrado (Deadwood),
and Gennifer Hutchinson (Breaking Bad) help maintain The
Strain's overall cohesive
feel and well done horror design. I must also say, I actually don't
mind the commercials when watching The Strain on
Hulu, for these fast moving ads get back to the show –
unlike the seven minutes or more on television when you forget what
you were watching!
The
Strain starts with plenty of layered horror parallels and
intriguing monsters versus science enthusiasm and well developed
characters. However, poor pacing and struggling storylines in the
second half of this debut kind of make me want to read the books
instead of watch Season Two. Some harsh language and brief nudity are
nothing major for horror tweens today, but it is best for
sophisticated scary fans to go into The Strain cold for a
maximum on the surprises, plague versus horror politics, historical
commentaries, and religious context. Despite a piecemeal, trickling
along exit, The Strain is a
unique combination of mad science, vampires, and zombies with
a little something to appease all horror audiences.
No comments:
Post a Comment