Guillermo del Toro is known throughout the world as a director and producer. However, in 2009, this actor of cinema, together with Chuck Hogan, released a horror novel. Based on the work, the series “Strain” was created. Reviews about the film adaptation of the novel are mostly positive. What is the story of the serial film produced by the FX channel about? And who played the main roles in it?
Strain: reviews, actors, creators of the project
The novel "Strain" tells the story of the virus of vampirism, which was brought to New York. From the very beginning, Guillermo del Toro had planned to film this story, but the long search for financial support tired the director, and he published a book. The American novelist Chuck Hogan acted as a co-author.
Funds for the film adaptation of the work were found after 5 years: the FX channel agreed to broadcast the series “Strain”. Reviews of the pilot series promised a warm welcome from the public. The trial episode was directed by del Toro himself. He subsequently produced the entire series.
Most filming took place in Canada. About $ 500,000 was spent on creating images of vampires and other monsters from the series.
The Strain was aired in July 2014, and a month earlier a multi-part picture was shown at a television festival in Texas.
Short story
In the very first episode of the series “Strain” del Toro sharply poses the main characters of the film with the main characters: it is not known where the vampire virus was brought from to New York, its spread must be stopped at all costs. If it fails to cope with the infection, the whole city (or even humanity) will die out.
The series is characterized by interesting detailing of many "facts" from the life of vampires. For example, in most horror films, the awesome "enemy" is taken for granted, and the scriptwriters do not go into details about why the antihero became so. Guillermo del Toro approached the creation of the vampire thriller differently: he came up with an explanation for vampirism - as if it provokes a certain parasite. This parasite is transmitted to another person by the bite of a vampire.
The appearance of bloodsuckers is also non-standard: they do not have fangs, but under the tongue there is a sting with which the villain simultaneously drinks blood and infects a person. At the same time, vampires communicate quite primitively due to the ongoing anatomical changes: they are not able to reproduce long sentences, only monosyllabic phrases and words.
Number of seasons
Reviews for the series “Strain” inspired hope for success, so in August 2014 it was decided to release the second season. And a year later a third was announced. The fourth season, which the FX channel presents in the summer of 2017, will be the final one.
Scenarios for subsequent episodes were not invented on the go, as is often the case with television shows. Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan planned the plot in advance, releasing the novel Strain as a trilogy. The third and fourth seasons of the series reflect the events of the final book. Accordingly, in the fourth season everything will end, you should not wait for the continuation of the project.
Corey Stoll and his character Ef Goodweather
Positive feedback on the series “Strain” (2014) concerned not only the work of the film crew, but also the cast.
The main role in the project was played by Corey Stoll (series “House of Cards”). His character, Ef Goodweather, is New York's chief epidemiologist. Therefore, when a Boeing is found at the airport of a metropolis, filled to capacity with infected people, Goodweather is the first to go to the scene.
For a long time, the doctor and scientist cannot understand what he actually encountered. When Ef hears a version of transmitted vampirism from his colleague Abraham Setrakyan, he reacts very skeptically. But over time, he has to accept an obvious fact.
While Dr. Goodweather is fighting the mysterious virus, many changes are taking place in his life: divorce, the struggle for custody of his son, the unfair accusation of the authorities and the constant harassment of vampires. However, Ef will succeed in completing his business.
David Bradley as Abraham Setrakyan
English actor David Bradley also got a major role in the Strain project. The television series for 3 whole seasons has become a permanent job for him.
The character of Bradley is a certain Abraham Setrakyan, an ethnic Armenian Jew. Having experienced many horrors during the Second World War, Setrakyan chose a noble goal in life - to fight vampirism. An elderly scientist knows everything about bloodsuckers: their anatomy, behavioral habits, etc. He also knows the right ways to exterminate vampires.
For a long time, Abraham could not enter into open confrontation with evil spirits because of his physical weakness. However, when he met Dr. Ef and Dr. Nora Martinez, he joined their group.
Actor David Bradley at the time of the shooting of the series “Strain” was already well over 70. Behind the performer was participation in the popular Harry Potter and Avengers franchises. Bradley also played Lord Walder Frey in Games of Thrones.
Mia Maestro as Nora Martinez
Actress Mia Maestro appeared as Nora Martinez in the movie Strain. Reviews of the series from the audience - evidence that the audience liked the selection of actors: Mia Maestro, David Bradley and Corey Stoll pleased with their serious approach to the assigned roles.
It is not surprising that the Maestro captivated the audience: she is not only beautiful, but also makes progress in acting. For work in the TV series “Spy”, “Tango” and “Che Guevara: Diaries of a Motorcyclist”, the performer was nominated for many awards, but won only two: Imagen Foundation Awards in 2005 and “Young Hollywood” in 2006.
Nora Martinez - the heroine of Mia from the series “Strain” - is a professional epidemiologist. In the Goodweather team, she takes the place of the second most respected specialist. From time to time, a spark jumps between Efoym and Nora, but in harsh working conditions they fail to develop their romance.
Other role performers
“Strain” - a television series included in the filmography of Kevin Durand, Jonathan Hyde, Richard Zamel, Sean Astin.
Kevin Durand ("Living Steel") appeared on the screens in the image of Vasily Fet - a Ukrainian working in the Pest Control Bureau. An unusual biography for the character of the American series. Nevertheless, the character of Vasily Fet is popular among viewers. Moreover, the Pied Piper is almost the successor to Ef Goodweather.
Jonathan Hyde, star of Jumanji and Anaconda, played the billionaire Eldrich Palmer, who sponsored vampires just to gain immortality.
Richard Zammel is an actor of German descent who played in the film Guillermo del Toro the long-lived vampire, the former head of the concentration camp.
The series "Strain": reviews of viewers
When the series just started broadcasting, its expectation rating was 98%. Guillermo del Toro is a master of thrillers and horror films, so the audience was looking forward to his serial film “The Strain”.
Reviews of the series from the audience are positive in 70% of cases. The audience was impressed by the detail of the plot. The smallest details of the fight against vampires, which were covered by the director, conveyed an atmosphere of realism on the screen. Plus, the FX channel did not stint on special effects.
Lovers of horror will find for themselves a lot of interesting things in the Guillermo del Toro project. Gloomy style, disgusting, not inspiring a single drop of sympathy vampires, avaricious musical accompaniment. However, not all reviews and reviews on the series "Strain" were positive.
Critic reviews
The series "Strain" received mixed reviews from critics. Professional observers found more omissions on the part of the crew than viewers.
Reviewers praised Del Toro's attempts to uncover the vampire theme from a different, less romantic perspective. However, vampires are already becoming familiar to the public as archetypes, so the scriptwriters have made a major emphasis on the inner world of epidemiologists who are struggling with the terrible virus. Here, inconsistencies began to arise: the fates of the main characters are similar to caricatures. The characters act little in the frame, but they talk a lot. The audience learns the facts from the life of Nora, Ef, Abraham mainly from dialogues.
Of course, there are scenes of open and aggressive confrontation between people and vampires in the film. However, there are not as many as we would like. About 30% of viewers who left feedback on the Kinopoisk website frankly admitted that they did not endure the end of the first season and stopped watching the series. The main reason is the protracted plot. Waiting for the rapid development of events is tiring. Sometimes you forget how this whole story began.
Perhaps del Toro was too bogged down in the details and forgot that active action should underlie any film, even if it was a serial.