Editorials
Can Season Two Of “The Strain” Fix Season One’s Problems?
It’s no secret that the first season of FX’s vampire series The Strain was a disappointment. It was a case of the advertisements being better than the show itself, which is disappointing but not surprising, considering the novels the series is based on are no great works of art themselves. Don’t get me wrong, I thought the books were a fun summer read, but in no way would I call them good. What irked me about the series is that many of the problems that the books had are still present in the series. To me, one of the goals of a film or television adaptation of a series of novels would be to take the worst parts of said novels and improve upon them. The Strain only did that in one area: they killed off Nora’s mother way before it happened in the books (and she was awful in the books). Now that the series has had some time to think about what it’s done, it returns to us with a second (and hopefully improved) season.
First, let’s look at some of The Strain’s most crippling problems:
The Humans Are Boring, Unrealistic And Make Stupid Decisions
I kept trying to convince myself last season that I liked the characters in The Strain. The Season 2 premiere made me realize how wrong I was. I actively despise nearly every human character on the show (Setrakian and Fet being the only two likable ones). With the premiere, the majority of the focus was on The Master’s origin (in a sequence expertly directed by Guillermo Del Toro) and Setrakian. Once anything shifted to Nora and Eph, the episode turned to shit (and I’m an Alias fan, so I love Mia Maestro). We all know characters makes stupid decisions in horror movies, but The Strain overdoes it. It took weeks for people to start noticing there was a vampire virus infecting people all over New York City, people hang on to their loved ones knowing their chances of survival would be better if they left them behind (Nora and Zach), the show expects us to care about certain characters we’ve barely spent any time with (I still can’t believe we got an entire late-season episode devoted to Kelly Goodweather’s demise), and, worst of all, the characters are annoying.
There Is Too Much Wheel-Spinning
I fully believe this is a consequence of stretching out a 400-page novel into a 13-episode season, but that is why The Strain should have 10 (or less) episodes in a season. Under the Dome is over 1,000 pages and even that could barely mine enough material to fill a 13-episode season (much less the 2 seasons that followed it, which deviated heavily and are still terrible). That being said, there were so many scenes in the first season that could have easily been cut. I’m all for a slow burn, but let’s not kid ourselves here: Hannibal this is not. The Strain is a glorified B-movie, and when it embraces those aspects of itself, it can be great. When it tries to be serious (which is where a lot of the aforementioned wheel-spinning comes into play), it’s actively terrible. Part of my impatience with these scenes may be because, as a book reader, I know where the show is going. Seeing it waste so much time on meaningless characters (or romantic sub-plots) is frustrating. What do you think? Am I being too harsh?
The Master Looks Terrible
I’m all for practical makeup effects, but The Master is embarrassing. It looks like he just had his lips done. Seriously, just look at this thing:
Zach
What irks me about this one is that they actually recast Ben Hyland,who was terrible in the first season (I’m sorry! I know he’s a child actor, but he was bad). So they were actually trying to improve in this particular area, but if Max Charles’ performance in the season 2 premiere is any indication, he might actually be worse than Hyland. Granted, this is mostly because the character of Zach is written as the most insufferable pre-teen to ever exist on film. This kid has seen his mother in vampire form, yet still insists that his father go find her so they can be a family again. Um, what?
These are just some of the most obvious issues plaguing The Strain (sorry), and I think they’re easy to fix. I actually enjoyed the Season 2 premiere more than Jess did, but the show still has a lot of work to do. It’s on the right track, but it essentially boils down to making the humans relatable, likable and, most importantly, smarter. A faster pace wouldn’t hurt either (or a shorter episode order for next season). Oh, and get rid of Zach, stat. Those of you who did read the books know what’s in store for him though…
In conclusion, I have this to say to The Strain: It shouldn’t feel like a chore to watch a TV show, and sometimes you do. Fix yourself. I want to like you. I really do! Please stop making it difficult.
What do you all think? Did you give up on the first season like I did (I stopped watching after seven episodes and only recently binged the final six)? Or do you think I’m completely in the wrong and that the show is brilliant? Let me know in the comments below?
P.S. What happened to Bolivar’s manager (Regina King)? Did they really bring her on board for 3 episodes and not even kill her? She just got away? What a waste of a talented actress.
The creators of internet icons that go on to inspire collaborative online fiction tend not to have much control over their creations once they leave the proverbial nest. From Victor Surge’s Slender Man to the anonymous user who first posted that Backrooms image with the accompanying text, once the internet hive mind takes over, artists are usually forced to sit back and watch as their stories take on a life of their own.
One exception to this rule is horror artist and creature designer Trevor Henderson. Back in 2018, Henderson introduced the world to an enigmatic figure named Siren Head and gave the online horror community their last great mascot. However, while the immensely popular creature made several unofficial (and sometimes unwanted) appearances in games, videos, and plenty of fan-art, Henderson miraculously managed to keep creative control over his monster even as it became a worldwide sensation.
With the success of Kane Parsons’ Backrooms film encouraging Hollywood to scour the internet for more online horror properties with an existing fanbase that might be enticed to show up to theaters, it makes sense that both Trevor and his digital offspring would be next in line for a big screen adaptation.
However, while Siren Head became a massive hit among the younger crowd who were in search of an online horror icon to call their own, much like my generation did with Slender Man, there are plenty of genre fans who aren’t familiar with the story behind this peculiar creature. That’s why I’d like to invite readers to join me as I dive into the origins of a beloved internet monster with more cinematic potential than you might initially believe.
Trevor Henderson’s Viral Horror Universe
To understand Siren Head, you first have to understand Trevor Henderson’s spooky body of work. A Canadian artist with a passion for coming up with online cryptids, Trevor went by the moniker of Slimyswampghost and would occasionally post photorealistic artwork on both Twitter and Tumblr as part of the internet tradition of sharing “cursed images” on social media. These found-footage-influenced digital paintings would often be accompanied by brief snippets of text contextualizing them within the artist’s larger universe of bizarre entities.
In August of 2018, Trevor posted several creepy creations that would end up becoming fan-favorites (from the 1930s-animation-inspired Creepy Cat to my personal favorite, Long Horse), though none of these could compete with the popularity of Siren Head. A tall, slender figure that camouflaged itself among telephone poles on isolated roadsides, this humanoid monster was inspired by the mysterious number stations phenomenon (real-life cryptic radio broadcasts that repeat coded numbers ad infinitum).
In his original post, Trevor included the following text alongside the picture:
She was on vacation with her husband, and they were scoping out graveyards on the way, as you do, when she saw it. Rising out of the old cemetery, big as an old (macabre) telephone pole. Was this some kind of bizarre art piece the authorities hadn’t gotten wise to yet? Even as she stepped out of the car, the megaphones on its “head” screeched to life. “NINE. EIGHTEEN. ONE. CHILD. SEVENTEEN. REMOVE. VILE“. A buzzing, doubled voice screamed random words at her. At this point, it jerked into motion, striding down the hill towards her.
And just like that, a new horror icon was born.
However, the creature didn’t become an overnight sensation like some other popular internet legends. It was only about six months later that Modus Interactive contacted Trevor asking for permission to include the monster in his contribution to that year’s Haunted PS1 Halloween Game Jam. The ensuing free-to-play title was a moderate hit, but Siren Head would lay dormant for a while after its release as Trevor continued to focus on other projects.
How Siren Head Went Viral
Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and short-form video content took over the internet. In April of 2020, Tiktokker and VFX artist Alex Howard created an eerily believable video of Siren Head towering over a cityscape, with this viral hit catapulting the character to mainstream recognition as genre fans raced to find out more about the enigmatic creature.
Suddenly, Siren Head was everywhere. Memes, toys, short film adaptations and even more videogame appearances led to the character occupying the same place that Slender Man had once held in popular culture. The only difference was that fans continued to refer to Henderson for more “official” lore about the monster, with the artist encouraging fan-made work but continuing to expand the mythology surrounding the character (which has since been revealed to be the physical manifestation of an Eldritch entity that preys on humankind).
Henderson even went so far as to discourage the character’s inclusion in the SCP Archives, as this would give Siren Head a Creative Commons license and allow bad actors to take advantage of the creature’s popularity. Not only that, but giving fans too much creative control over the monster would have inevitably lead to what some genre enthusiasts, such as Kane Parsons, refer to as “lore creep”: the overaccumulation of fictional information regarding a horror property that ultimately makes the story less scary.
While we’re past the peak of Siren Head’s online popularity, the character still holds a special place in genre fans’ hearts as an icon representing a particular moment in internet history. That’s why even horror titans like Junji Ito have expressed their love for the monster, and also why it makes sense for Hollywood to finally get off their butts and get around to adapting the creature to the big screen – especially since the monster’s success has led to Henderson developing a career in the horror genre (with several freaky projects ranging from Young Adult Horror novels to Bloody FM’s own Mayfair Watchers Society Podcast).
With the cinematic dream-team of both Zach Cregger and Brian Duffield joining forces in order to steer Trevor’s ideas towards box office gold, I think it’s safe to say that Siren Head is about to get the big-screen adaptation the fans deserve, and I know I’ll be there on opening night!
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