TV REVIEW: The Strain “Night Zero”

By Clinton Bell

The Strain, based on the book by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan, follows Ephraim “Eph” Goodweather, the head of a CDC team in New York City, who is summoned to JFK International when a plane arrives under mysterious circumstances. Eph and his partner, Nora, enter the plane and discover that nearly all two hundred passengers have died, and no one can explain why. Though we, the viewers, know that it’s due to the strange, vampire creature stowed away in the plane’s cargo hold.

“Night Zero”—the first of 13 episodes—is a mostly enjoyable premiere of what could be an exciting, different, and badass vampire series.

The episode is paced like a blockbuster movie and doesn’t waste much time getting from point A to point B, though we do get a brief look at how Eph’s work interferes with other parts of his life. Eph—portrayed by Corey Stoll of House of Cards—is passionate about the work he does, though doesn’t seem to have a good balance between his work and his personal life. He is divorced and doesn’t have custody of his son. Stoll plays the character with energy; Eph is smart and quick-witted, yet stuck in a web of his own making. But unlike most of his cable drama brethren, Eph is the hero of this story.

The rest of the main cast includes: David Bradley as Professor Abraham Setrakian, a holocaust survivor who has brushed with the vampires in the past; Mia Maestro as Dr. Nora Martinez, a biochemist that works with Eph; and Sean Astin as Jim Kent, a CDC administrator with a secret connection to the vampires. The 70-minute premiere doesn’t quite find the time to flesh out these characters, especially Nora and Jim. The characterization mostly takes a backseat to the chaos unfolding at the airport.

The Strain boasts excellent production values, which rival some films. The episode, which was directed by del Toro, has a stylized, comic book look, similar to del Toro’s Pacific Rim and Hellboy movies. The sequence in which Eph and Nora investigate the plane is beautifully lit and shot, and quite reminiscent of del Toro’s previous work. As far as I know, del Toro isn’t set to direct any more episodes this season, but hopefully future directors will be able to match his visuals, which are very pleasing to the eye.

Speaking of “eye,” there’s been some controversy over FX’s marketing campaign for The Strain, particularly a billboard ad that depicted a worm squirming its way through a human eye. “Night Zero” mostly lives up to the disturbing ads, giving us plenty of icky vampire worm things, and a disturbing (yet very badass) scene in which the “cargo vampire” brutally kills an airport worker. There isn’t as much gore as The Walking Dead, but The Strain isn’t afraid to get graphic when it wants to.

There have been plenty of vampire shows and movies over the past few years, but not many of them treat the vampires as monsters to be feared. The Strain does. “Night Zero” doesn’t provide many scares, but it does show us how brutal and violent these creatures can be. If you’ve lost interest in vampires over recent years, The Strain might be able to reignite your interest. It’s a solid, promising start.

 Additional Notes:

– I was blown away by Corey Stoll on House of Cards. He doesn’t get much room here to flex his acting muscles, but his involvement is one of the reasons why I was drawn to the show to begin with.

– I like how the vampires need to be beheaded and burned to be killed. It’s different than the usual “stake through the heart” method. Though the show does imply that the vampires can’t be in the sunlight.

– I am quite excited about the next few episodes, mostly because the main characters (except for Abraham) don’t yet realize the scope and magnitude of this event. To Eph and Nora, it’s a weird mystery with freaky worm things, but we (the viewers) know that it’s much bigger than that.