7.4 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Dr. Ephraim "Eph" Goodweather, the gifted head of the Center for Disease Control's canary team in New York City, and his team are called upon to investigate a mysterious, rapidly-spreading virus reminiscent of an ancient and evil strain of vampirism. As the strain spreads, Eph, his team, an enigmatic Holocaust survivor, and an assembly of regular people wage a desperate war for the fate of humanity itself.
Starring: Corey Stoll, David Bradley (IV), Kevin Durand, Richard Sammel, Jack KesyHorror | 100% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Sci-Fi | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
French: DTS 5.1
German: DTS 5.1
English SDH, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Three-disc set (3 BDs)
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Guillermo del Toro is not exactly known for restraint, as evidenced by hyperbolic elements which accrue in many of his works. Del Toro’s own
brand of
magical realism tends to perhaps cloak these tendencies in a way that likely helps to distract from just how much is actually going on in any given del
Toro
outing, but as this acclaimed director has found out with regard to a couple of recent releases like Pacific Rim and/or Crimson
Peak, there may be a small (but perhaps incrementally increasing) vocal minority made up of devoted fans who are nonetheless
saying,
“Hey, enough is enough already!” Some of those same curmudgeonly types may be apt to roll their eyes now and again at just how overstuffed
The
Strain’s second season is, for this is a show that virtually wallows in excess, weaving what is in essence a vampire tale into all sorts of
other
genres or at least niches. The Strain therefore isn’t content to merely document the terrifying rise of a vampire known as The Master, it
also
works in subplots that variously touch on contagion (vampirism is a “disease” of sorts in this series), the Holocaust (a kind of Simon Wiesenthal-
esque character is on the hunt for The Master), and (just for good measure) a kind of The Walking Dead ambience whereby your friends, neighbors or even your estranged wife might
suddenly be “turned” into a shambling undead sort when you least expect it. The Strain is an undeniably dense, novelistic series, one
that is
attempting to build a fascinating mythology while staying grounded in a supposedly (more or less) realistic framework that lapses fairly regularly
into
more traditional del Toro territory of folklore, fairy tale (of the Grimm variety) and, yes, magical realism, though perhaps not in the totally
hallucinogenic manner that tended to make films like Pan's
Labyrinth so instantly iconic. Because there’s so much going on in this series, the narrative through line often feels diffused or
dispersed, but the
series continues to provide typical del Toro-ian flourishes, especially with regard to a really evocative production design and overall visual
approach
that helps to paper over some of the actual storyline deficiencies.
For those wanting to reacquaint themselves with the story thus far, I refer you to our The Strain: The Complete First Season Blu-ray review. Those who haven't yet picked up
the
first season on Blu-ray and who might like a charming (?) bust of a vampire to perk up their abode may want to check out this edition: The Strain: The Complete First Season
.
The Strain: The Complete Second Season is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. I frankly hadn't looked at the series' IMDb listing since I wrote the review for the first season, and the addition of the Arri Alexa XT as a camera probably indicates that much and maybe all of this second season was filmed with it, instead of the Red Epic (if anyone can point me toward reliable and verifiable information, I'm happy to update the review). The series continues to look very strong throughout the second season, though I'd probably downgrade overall clarity and detail levels just slightly from the first season, due to this season's prevalence of a kind of sickly green-yellow grading for many of the strigoi scenes, as well as the typical cool slate gray to blue tones that are utilized for many of the lab or more medically inclined sequences. When these sometimes pretty aggressive grading issues come into play, detail levels can dip noticeably (see screenshots 8, 10, 11 and 14). The show does venture out into bright daylight occasionally (the Master be damned!), and here the palette looks relatively fresh and natural, with excellent detail levels. CGI continues to be quite impressive in this series, with some of the shots of strigoi tongues looking like snakes that shoot out of mouths like arrows. My score for this second season is 4.25.
The Strain: The Complete Second Season features a nicely immersive DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 that provides plenty of traditional horror film startle effects, especially when strigoi suddenly jump out of nowhere to attack. There are a number of other fanciful sound effects that are quite well done, including the "simple" sound of strigoi tongues ricocheting out to attack unsuspecting humans, and in more ostensibly realistic scenes, in the mundane ambient environmental noises of the series' urban environments. Dialogue is cleanly presented throughout the season on this problem free track.
Disc One
I'm still finding The Strain involving, though I frankly asked myself more than once during this season, "Why are they doing this?" The show seems to delight in stuffing more and more tangents and/or subplots into what is already a filled to the brim melange of ideas, concepts and even genres. Del Toro is famously febrile, as almost all of his movies prove, and that tendency is certainly on display throughout this series. Therefore, the best approach toward The Strain is to perhaps not binge watch it, but to break it off into easily "digestible" chunks, since the story is so dense so much of the time. Technical merits continue to be very strong, and The Strain: The Complete Second Season comes Recommended.
2014
Premium Collector's Edition
2014
2006
2016
2007
2019
2015
Collector's Edition
1978
Space Vampires / Space Zombies
1968
2017
Warner Archive Collection
1945
2016
1971
2016
2010
The Director's Cut
1997
2015
2001
2008
1964
2019
2000