In 2009, film maker Guillermo del Toro gave us the horror novel
The Strain. He followed it in 2010 with
The Fall, and in 2011 with
The Night Eternal. Together with writer Chuck Hogan, del Toro explored the world of vampires that he had begun with the movie
Blade 2. Do you remember the Russian vamps that could split their lower jaw in two halves revealing a larger mouth filled with all kinds of terrible things? Yeah, those vampires were a precursor for what del Toro planned to do with vampires. Let's just say (for the sake of convention) that these vamps are a far cry from Edward in
Twilight. Rumor is they even defecate on themselves while feeding on humans. Gross but probably something I'll be drawn to watch. I'm a fan of well-done horror that crosses science-fiction boundaries and if del Toro is behind it, the production values should be incredible.
From what I gather, del Toro is exploring vampire biology in
The Strain (the sciency twist). He views them as parasites. They introduce a capillary worm into a host's system in the most invasive of ways (del Toro has a thing about vaginas and vagina-like orifices in all of his films) and of course it introduces a virus that changes the host into, well, a blood-sucking vampire. Anyway, I've been looking at comic covers for T
he Strain to get an idea of how the vampires are going to look when the series makes its debut on FX, and I'm pretty sure it's going to be a fairly accurate reproduction of these panels:
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| I seriously would not want to be this hapless fellow. |
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This isn't a herd of zombies. It's a herd of vampires. Zombie Vampire apocalypse
is where the action is at. Wouldn't you agree? |
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I love the atmosphere in this piece...down to the exposed bloody ribs
of the human victim on the ground. The fact this act took place in what
appears to be a garden shed hints at the horror that engulfs the world.
Even suburbia isn't safe. |
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| DEAD BODIES EVERYWHERE!!!! |
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| Anatomical sketches of the vampire head. |
I kind of wonder if
The Strain series will follow the path blazed by
The Walking Dead. In other words, will they start with a band of survivors just trying to find a safe place to hole up in the ashes of a vampire apocalypse? Like
The Walking Dead,
The Strain has potential to just keep going season after season with new and different tidbits revealed about the vampires and by rotating the cast (killing off characters with abandon) in fall/season finales.
Have any of you read
The Strain comic book or picked up the three novels? If so, what did you think of them?
Parasites that s*it themselves. Gross. *puts down breakfast* I've never read the Strain comic book, but for me, this would fall into the zombie-like category of all-things-scary-in-this-world that I'll avoid reading. Now I need to go watch some Dean and Oliver to wash those images out of my head. :P
ReplyDeleteI'll check out the series for sure. Read the first book and thought it was 'all right.' He's a much better director so it will transfer to film as a better story.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to check this series out. I usually love FX shows so I have high hopes for this one.
ReplyDeleteYikes.
ReplyDeleteNever heard of it, but then, I don't think I'd read/watch it. Believe it or not, I'm not much one for horror. :-)
ReplyDeleteNo, haven't read them.
ReplyDeleteI thought 30 Days of Night had scary vampires. These make them look like pussies. Ha Edward, yeah I'm sure even though he's a vamp these would tear him to pieces. Awesome find Mike and I'm so pissed I don't have FX.
ReplyDeleteI think I've heard of those but I have no interest in vampires, the scary kind or the wussy sparkly kind.
ReplyDeleteSorry. Just not my thing although this art, while effectively disturbing, is well-conceived.
ReplyDeleteEwww, gross. I haven't read the comics for this and I pretty much go out of my way to avoid stories like these. I really have a low gross-out level.
ReplyDeleteACK! You want me to have nightmares?? I would if I could without staying up all night biting the sheet. :-)
ReplyDeletePal, I hope everything if good for you. Still trying to figure out what's wrong with Christopher. :( I'm going to take him to a holistic doctor. Merry Christmas. (You know I wouldn't say Seasons Greetings.) Be safe.