The Strain

Plot synopsis:
In New York City, a Boeing 777 arriving at JFK International Airport "goes dark" shortly after touching down. Unable to establish contact with anyone inside, airport authorities force open the airplane and discover the passengers and crew dead. When authorities suspect a possible contagion, CDC official Dr. Ephraim "Eph" Goodweather is called away from his weekend visitation with his son, Zachary, to investigate. Eph and Dr. Nora Martinez, his colleague and former lover, find no signs of disease on the bodies. A large coffin filled with soil, missing from the plane's manifest, is found in the cargo hold.
Eph finds four survivors aboard the plane: computer programmer Ansel Arbour, attorney Joan Luss, rock star Gabriel Bolivar, and pilot Doyle Redfern. The CDC releases the passengers over Eph's objections when Luss threatens legal action, though Redfern voluntarily stays. Meanwhile, during a total solar eclipse over New York, the creature stowed aboard the plane manages to escape the airport and gain transport into the city. Abraham Setrakian, an elderly pawnbroker from Spanish Harlem, realizes what is happening and seeks out Eph and Nora and he urges them to immediately destroy the victims' bodies. Setrakian is arrested for trying to gain access to the morgue.
Over the next 24 hours, the four "survivors" gradually transform into vampires, while many of the "dead" passengers disappear from the morgue and return home to their families, spreading the vampire infection. Eph kills Redfern in self-defense and realizes that Setrakian's earlier warnings were true. Desperate to know what is going on, Eph bails Setrakian out of jail. Meanwhile, Gus Elizalde, a man who was paid by an anonymous man to unwittingly drive the coffin into Manhattan, kills a vampire in Times Square and is arrested, sharing his cell with Setrakian. Gus is urged by Setrakian to kill his friend Felix, who was bitten and infected by the vampire.
Setrakian reveals to Eph and Nora that vampires (Strigoi) are real, and that one of the seven original "Ancients" has come to America to infect its populace. Setrakian has already calculated that the New York infection will overtake the world in six months. He also warns that the seventh Ancient, "the Master," is being aided by a human accomplice. That same day, exterminator Vasily Fet visits a house in Tribeca to capture a rat. Because of similar cases, Fet suspects that something below ground is driving the rat population to the surface.
Following Setrakian's advice, Eph and Nora begin tracking down and dispatching the vampirized passengers. However, the trio are framed for Redfern's murder and forced to flee CDC headquarters. Setrakian explains they have one remaining course of action: because the vampires operate as part of a hive mind, they can contain the infection by destroying the Master. Eph goes to warn Zach and his ex-wife, Kelly, to leave New York; however, Kelly's jealous boyfriend Matt persuades her to ignore Eph's advice and wait out the crisis.
Eph finds evidence linking Eldritch Palmer, a wealthy investment banker, to the CDC. Setrakian, who has had past dealings with Palmer, deduces that Palmer is aiding the Master in exchange for immortality. After dispatching one of the "survivors," the trio are contacted by Fet. When they join forces, Fet quickly absorbs Setrakian's revelation about vampires and says he has found the Master's likely hiding place beneath World Trade Center site.
The Master confronts Eph and claims to have turned Kelly and Zach. Eph rushes to Kelly's house in Queens, where he kills a now-vampiric Matt. Zach appears unharmed, but Kelly is missing. Eph, Setrakian, and Fet enter the Master's lair and kill dozens of new vampires, driving the Master through an escape tunnel to Gabriel Bolivar's mansion. They drive him to the roof, where he is survives being scorched by sunlight before escaping. Setrakian admits that the Master has powers unlike any other vampire and that they now have no way to stop the plague from overtaking Manhattan.
While Gus is being transported out of the city in a police van, Felix turns and attacks the other prisoners. Gus escapes, killing Felix. When he runs home, he finds that his brother and mother have been turned. Gus emerges onto the street and fights several newly turned vampires, until a group of fully mature vampires appear and kill the new ones with specialized weapons. These vampire-hunters abduct Gus and take him to an abandoned mine outside Nazareth, Pennsylvania, where the three New World Ancients prepare their response to the Master's "incursion." They decide Gus, capable of moving about in daylight, will be conscripted as a vampire killer.
Returning to Kelly's home, Eph encounters one final horror: Kelly, now a vampire, is driven by a primal need to find and infect her son. Eph drives her away, knowing that she will never stop pursuing Zach unless she is destroyed. With Zach's help, Eph posts proof of the vampire plague online, and, for the first time in years - as he has been a recovering alcoholic - pours himself a drink.

Tags: violence

Review:
I'll start off by saying that this series compelled me to create an IMDb account.There are many things that makes this show one of my all time favorites: 1) The intense, noir setting 2) No unwanted random scenes (Everything contributes to the plot) 3) Fast paced (the beginning is a little slow but it's very gripping) 4) Del Torro and his direction 5) Great animation and CGI 6) Very believable and rational story line 7) Dark atmosphere and background 8) Apocalypse and survival strategiesI'm a person that enjoys dark, intense setting with good story line and action I love shows like Death Note (anime), Lost, Game of thrones, the 100, etcIf you like any of the above mentioned shows or a thrilling, dark themed apocalyptic series, you're going to absolutely love this!People who are asking so many questions right at the beginning of the show and are calling this stupid, are dumb AF.
The boy/son was hard to watch, he came off bratty & not a great actor (sorry, I know he's a kid) The ending, I won't spoil but was disappointing for a season finale.
Quite obviously they are having difficulty filling a 50 minutes episode.Plot holes are not where it stops, some of the main actors should have been sucked out by the master just on poor performance.
The story is very nice and the effects are quite good for cable television.The acting is nice but is not the main point of the show, some characters are not as believable as they should but generally it is pretty good.Of course I am a little biased since this like apocalypse stuff + vampires + fallen angels and all kind of stuff that I love.Anyhow if you don't like the genre then don't watch it just because of Del Torro.
For those looking for a quick fix, yearning to have it all figured out by the end of the pilot episode, your reviews highlight your frustration and this may not be the show for you.This series has fantastic potential and is off to a great start.
I read the trilogy (I recommend to all whether you watch the series or not - very good!) and while reading I couldn't help but imagine what a great trilogy of movies they would make!
There are so many characters in the books and so many parallel story lines that a series is the only way to do justice to the books - and justice they have done so far with episode one!
As the series True Blood draws to a close this year and thankfully Twilight is concluded, it's high time for a new kind of terrifying vampire - not some handsome man but a scary, deadly, disgusting beast!
For something that started out pretty good to became so damn unbearable, it's unbelievable.Scientifically trying to explain the clearly supernatural is one thing, but the terrible, unreasonable choices characters make is a wholly different.
Their choices to face danger when it's not necessary, to go alone when they'd clearly need help to survive (which they do anyway 'cus 'plot armor'), to overdramatize everything and continue to whine about it for seasons to come, to actively push the boundaries of stupidity...The show started out as a solid 7, maybe even an 8, with an intriguing story, interesting design choices, it was mysterious and even scary, but they managed to ruin it all and turn it into a show where characters have casual conversations and calmly drink themselves under the table while they're under attack from horrors, and spectacularly screw up the solution to mankind's survival, which earned similarly spectacular 1/10 rating from me.With all the terrible choices, plot conveniences, plot holes, plot armor, horrid writing and whatever else, this is just milking the cash-cow now.
Finished 3 seasons, I'm most definitely not going to start the 4th.If you're really interested in the show, watch the first season and then stop right there and forget about it because with each episode, it gets worse and worse.
We are spoilt now on the small screen with great writers delivering extraordinary dialogue, A- List actors weaving their magic and sh*t hot directors pulling it all together in series such as Fargo, True Detective and Breaking Bad. And then there's this crap.
Del Toro said in an interview that he wanted this to be a series, rather than a movie trilogy, as that gave more room for character- and story development.
It actually came to the point whee I started disliking the people I was supposed to care about, and began hoping for them to die (but of course they don't, no matter what).Yet I kept watching, having been led to believe that there only would be three seasons.
I am flabbergasted by how the writers continue to amaze with their story line in each episode.This show is not your typical boring vampire story because it thinks the whole thing differently with gory, scientific and captivating way.The fact that Dracula as we have come to know it was really possessed by an ancient alien makes the story more captivating.
It tries so much to be like The Walking Dead but the acting sucks big time, no story, no anything really.
I have a lot of respect to Guillermo del Toro, he have a real passion for the unknown, the weird and the magical, hell boy was a unique film and a great jumps start, but unfortunately some bad choices prevents his following movies to enter the hall of fame.
Pacific Rim suffered from megalomania and too much mechanical noise.and now came the strain, a series that like del Toro's films could be perfect if only there wasn't any of del Toro's bad choices.first of all - the acting, none of the lead actors is capable to lead the show, they all had experience in supporting roles but none of the charm or the acting ability to stand in the front.
"The master" monster - The same problem with Pan's Labyrinth main monster character happens here too, OK, I get it, del Toro wanted to reanimated the classic (and not sexy) original vampire but the result doesn't project any horror, it's looks ridiculous and disappointing, are we afraid?
I don't think so.so in conclusion, the series could be great if it wasn't for the bad choices del Toro makes, and because we are talking about such a promising director, it's disappointing even more.
You only have to see the first ten minutes of the pilot to understand what I mean, and It really doesn't get better either.You'll spend most of your time screaming at your screen shouting things like "WTF, you dumb f**k!" or "oh..
The only thing I think 90% of people are watching the show for anyway.Don't get me wrong, this movie has a really great premise, and has (had) glimmers of potential.
The first few episodes are a bit misleading (you might think that it's going be very serious and realistic- "oh sweet they're gonna use science to combat the vampirism" NOPE JUST KILL IT LIKE YOU WOULD KILL A ZOMBIE) and you really need to suspend your disbelief a lot.
That being said it's still got plenty of room for improvement if gets green lighted for more seasons.TLDR; Don't go in expecting anything too intelligent but if you're looking for some B-movie-like vampire slaying entertainment then you could do a lot worse.
This show is in many ways very similar to Helix which also have crappy actors, bad script, plot holes unlikable characters but at least it had some suspense.
You wanted to know what happened next, in the season final of the strain I got so bored I fast forward.
That left aside however it's movie quality stuff in a TV series and worth a watch for any horror fan - updated now for the 3rd series, unlike the books which gallop along at an excellent pace this is being drawn out with unnecessary fluff.
The plot revolves around a very unlikeable character who never really seems to develop throughout the series and you never really feel any sort of suspense, and are kinda happy when people get killed off because they were very annoying.The acting is just awful, starting at the top the health inspector is the most likable and interesting character, they somehow make him the most interesting character in the show.
They couldn't even get technology right, I guess they didn't have the budget to get a entry level tech person in there to make writing suggestions, I wish they would just kill her off because she is the MOST annoying character.They should have used CGI for the master vampire, when they FINALLY show him he looks like a rubber puppet, It was laughable and disappointing waiting for that moment only to see a overgrown 'yoda' puppet causing all this so called chaos.
IF this show gets renewed I might give it a second chance for next season, but that is speculation that I will decide to break away from doing work to actually participate in dragging myself through more episodes of boredom and bad acting..
I'm amazed that he can leave a feature film like Pacific Rim with so many flaws and yet produce a stellar show such as this - now heading onto the third and possibly final season - which pulls out all the stops and competes with some of the best dramas out there as a horror show!
The Strain is a slightly new take on the vampire legend in the way that only Del Toro could bring and cleverly connects the present day with legend, lore and historic drama.The premise allows for darkness and evil to grip New York from the troubled projects on up to the highest echelons of the wealthy and influential while the humble and the lost conflict over their own personal adversities.
There are so many characters from different backgrounds that if you never read the novels or comics, you don't know who is truly for good but you'll feel for them, even some of the villains.Portraying the most flawed protagonists that you could ever expect, the likes of Corey Stoll, David Bradley and Kevin Durand slam out perfect performances every time, as do the rest of the cast.
And with support from the likes of Doug Jones, Stephen McHattie, Rupert Penry-Jones, Leslie Hope, Samantha Mathis, Sean Astin and Andrew Divoff, it's like a modern day X-Files on a deadline.Fantastic special effects every time, no expenses spared, strong episodes every time and oodles of intrigue will leave every horror fan binge-watching just to see what happens every next episode.For television this is a solid 10/10!.
I was looking forwards to watching this new series, aka the strain thinking that it would offer something refreshing to the usual humdrum science fiction series we have on our screens these days.
After watching a lot of real amazing series like Lost, The Wire, Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, Sex Feed Under, The Walking Dead I have a pretty good idea what good screenplay, good development of characters and good acting means.
I just started watching this show on Hulu and it's quite interesting in the beginning, but after watching the first episode I knew something is really off with the characters and the story line.
You just survived out of the other 200+ passengers of that plane and you obviously got a look of your face/skin, being advised for a quarantine -- then what, just disobey it and come visit your family like what the hell happened to me, I'm going to infect my family/loved ones.
Still some good actors in the batch, even if they are wickedly under-used, such as the criminally under-rated Kevin Durand and the afore-mentioned Stoll.Alas, the "dramatically convenient stupidity" has been cranked up a notch in Ep1 of Season 2 (who goes hunting known vampire master in the dark without backup?) and the intellect of the characters seems to have been largely dialed back this season.
The first two episodes of The Strain are reasonably well paced, offering some genuinely creepy scares with a "hybrid" premise that mixes up the end of world virus/zombie/vampire genres.
I didn't know what this was about but it pulled me in with its dark atmosphere and horror.The Strain focuses on a strange vampire like virus that causes an outbreak in New York City after about hundreds of people aboard an aircraft are strangely dead.
But it is only the first episode and I'm sure, like all shows, the writing picks up and gets much better.
This series started so promising that I was convinced that I am looking at a masterpiece but everything went downhill fast and the finale of season 1 felt like cold shower.
So far, it's badly acted, miss-directed, has a terrible script and where I had high hopes for the special effects, coming from the Director of Pans Labyrinth, I find this series extremely underwhelming.
It's a long time ago that I watched utterly garbage like The Strain.
Zombie-like mind-controlled people - check, omnipresent evil corporation - check, guy who knows what's up, but is ignored - check, kind and smart protagonist who steps out of character to completely ignore "guy who knows what's up" for no apparent reason - check, threat arriving from a foreign country - check.I could go on listing the trademarks of bad writing like the ridiculous ways characters react to blackmail or the completely inconsistent way a biological threat is treated, but anyone who has ever seen a B movie knows what to expect.Despite the above, the show is well shot and acted.
Plain and uninspired plot mixed with a ton of clichés just to see a few moments of cool-looking effects - it is OK if you want to waste some nobrainer time but better spend it on a classic like X-Files or anything else.P.S.: The lowest minimum of review on IMDb is 10 lines so I'm going to spend it on some keywords: ---an attempt to give live to a cardboard main character by trying to add some unnecessary family drama to him ---clichéd special agent pair of a young woman and a man ---clichéd "I told you, you didn't listen" protagonist ---some random worms ---the most clichéd expandable characters available: a goth, a bitch and and asshole ---cliched deadly little girl ---random character behaviour to make plot going ---it's not worth your time.
It's clear that the writer Guillermo del Toro, who is most famous for his work with Hellboy and, my personal favorite, Pan's Labrynth, has taken a lot of inspiration from the very old, Victorian novel, "Dracula." This show has started with great pace, suspense, and good acting.
This kind of agitated me.I'm still eager to watch the rest of the series to see what happens but I definitely would like the show to be one thing rather than throwing in all these different plot points..
So I am really anxious to get around watching the following seasons.The story told in "The Strain" is a story which is driven by a great storyline, script and combination of colorful and detailed characters.
It is a story put together by the fates of random people coming together in the face of utter annihilation at the mercy of a vile vampire who is pulling the strings from behind the scenes - so to speak.The series makes good use of a combination of present and past events, tying together the storyline quite nicely, and bringing the audience up to pace with the events in a very stylish and entertaining manner.I enjoy the whole thrill and sense of lurking doom that permeates the series; at least throughout season one.
And the characters in the series are really nicely fleshed out, rich in detail and story, and that really makes them come off as being actual real people.And also the special effects in "The Strain" did help the series along quite nicely, because the special effects team had put together some very interesting touches to the traditional vampire genre, and totally brought about something new and exciting."The Strain" is a MUST watch for any fans of the horror and vampire genres..
If the following episodes are not only 20 minutes short or paved with fillers I really do not know how they want to fit the high expectations with which they left the viewer after the pilot.I hope the best for this series and will continue this review....
That is why The Strain is a masterpiece of its kind.On every episode it has the proper balance between action & dialogues and on top of this is has amazing flashbacks that shed light to the main charactersOn the contrary Walking Dead is filled more with unnecessary soap opera dialogues and way too less action that makes it boring.Z Nation is way too low budget with many gaps in the scenarioThe Strain also combines elements from both zombies/vampires and Guillermo del Toro as a producer guarantees that one If you really like Blade 2/Hellboy/28 Days Later that is a must see!.
It has a lot of good ideas from other series and movies mixed into the story.
To give credit where it's due, the episode ended well—a scene that could have become an effects bloodbath heavy on worms and proboscises, del Toro presents as a tender father-daughter reunion--like a great horror director he leaves the rest to our imaginations—but given The Strain's assumption that viewers will be perfectly happy to see other people's leftovers presented as a master's chef's weekly special, as a viewer I am not tempted to continue..
OK there are some plot holes that could have done better but this fantastic and looking forward to watch the rest of the series..
Cause the pace did get up, and the acting did got better, and it has gotten to be a fun-to-watch kind of show where the 45 or so minutes don't feel like 65 (as the first few episodes), but more like 35.