Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro and author Chuck Hogan bring their bestselling trilogy of sci-fi/horror novels—a combination of outbreak thriller and vampire story—to the small screen in this FX-aired series. Corey Stoll stars as Ephraim Goodweather, head of a New York CDC “canary team” of first responders, and David Bradley (memorable as Filch in the Harry Potter movies) plays Abraham Setrakian, a vampire hunter who recognizes the symptoms of the sudden illness threatening people in the Big Apple. Stoll and colleagues Nora and Jim (Mía Maestro and Sean Astin) initially dismiss Setrakian as merely superstitious, until the infection spreads and the victims are transformed into violent, bloodthirsty creatures that shrink from the light and release worm-like parasites that take over host bodies, After that, the four team up, mixing modern science with ancient lore. This first season only covers a couple days, but even that brief time frame stretches credulity as news of this chaos is somehow kept from getting out. Otherwise, the concept is overly familiar (thanks to the recent spate of zombie films and TV shows), aside from a conspiratorial twist: this threat is being engineered by an ancient vampire who plans to take over the world. While the show's creators use the urban setting to good effect, the characters and relationships feel underdeveloped, and the series rarely rises to the level of dramatic intensity found in The Walking Dead. Compiling all 13 episodes from the 2014 debut season, extras include behind-the-scenes featurettes. Likely to be popular, this is a strong optional purchase. (S. Axmaker)
The Strain: The Complete First Season
Fox, 596 min., not rated, DVD: 4 discs, $39.98; Blu-ray: 3 discs, $49.99 March 23, 2015
The Strain: The Complete First Season
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