But in case you didn't spot those gross worm-eye posters around the city, this is not going to be a sexy show. (Vera Farmiga certainly helps in that regard.) Perhaps he will exert more control over the season-I have only seen the pilot episode, which draws very heavily from del Toro and Hogan's novel, released in 2009 after efforts to develop the idea as a TV series failed.įX is striking while the vampire genre is hot, sort of. Cuse has done great work over the last two years with the gleefully camp Bates Motel, a Psycho prequel that has absolutely no business being anywhere near as enjoyable as it is. This thing should be a barrel full of fun.

The line, to quote the august American humorist Joey Tribbiani, is a dot to him. But with FX horror-drama The Strain (based on his and Chuck Hogan's novel and developed with Lost writer Carlton Cuse), he doesn't come close to toeing that line. I am a major defender of his Hellboy films, enjoyed Pacific Rim even though it didn't linger after I left the theater, and still wish he'd gotten the chance to make those boring old Hobbit movies.

Guillermo del Toro walks a very fine line with everything he produces, and he usually does it well, giving us pulpy, self-aware, but giddy and fun genre entertainment that manages to stand out from the crowd. As part of an intended triology, The Strain ends on a hesitant note but it's still an exciting page turner, perfect for those with a taste for the gruesome.This article is from the archive of our partner. Thankfully, once The Strain is unleashed and a host of half-zombie, half-vampire creatures start laying waste to New York, the book shifts up a few gears, with Del Toro's talent for creating fantastical, macarbre characters shining through. Whether it's the curious dual authorship or just a desire to set the scene accurately, the beginning of the story is a disappointingly sluggish mass of technical description.

With an obvious nod to bram stoker's Dracula, The Strain follows the story of a plane that lands in New York with nearly all passangers dead and a mysterious, earth filled coffin in the hold. Best known as an innovative film director, Mexican Guillermo Del Toro makes his first foray into literature alongside thriller writer Chuck Hogan with this entertaining mix of action blockbuster and vampire myth.

The strain by guillermo del toro