Connect with us

Editorials

Can Season Two Of “The Strain” Fix Season One’s Problems?

Published

on

Strain

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:

Strain Master

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.

A journalist for Bloody Disgusting since 2015, Trace writes film reviews and editorials, as well as co-hosts Bloody Disgusting's Horror Queers podcast, which looks at horror films through a queer lens. He has since become dedicated to amplifying queer voices in the horror community, while also injecting his own personal flair into film discourse. Trace lives in Austin, TX with his husband and their two dogs. Find him on Twitter @TracedThurman

Editorials

‘Phantasm’ – Why the Horror Classic’s Exploration of Death Still Resonates 45 Years Later

Published

on

As Benjamin Franklin famously wrote, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”

The horror genre offers a controlled environment in which viewers can reflect on their own morality, whether it be via catharsis or escapism, but a personal loss can complicate one’s relationship with horror. Even the most hardened of fans may struggle to find comfort in the genre after experiencing the death of a loved one.

45 years ago today, Phantasm helped viewers confront death head-on while subtly exploring the grief that accompanies it. In the film, 13-year-old Mike (A. Michael Baldwin) convinces his older brother-turned-guardian Jody (Bill Thornbury) and their affable neighborhood ice cream man, Reggie (Reggie Bannister), to investigate a mysterious mortician dubbed The Tall Man (Angus Scrimm).

Phantasm was the third feature from writer-director Don Coscarelli (The Beastmaster, Bubba Ho-Tep). The seed was planted upon witnessing the audience react to a small jump scare at a preview screening for his previous effort, the 1976 coming-of-age tale Kenny and Company. Chasing that jolt of adrenaline, he challenged himself to make a movie that delivers scares regularly throughout.

The independent production was shot in 1977 on weekends over the course of nearly a year in and around southern California’s San Fernando Valley. The 23-year-old Coscarelli shrewdly rented the film gear on Fridays and returned it Monday morning, getting three days of work out of a single day’s rental fee. When all was said and done, the film cost an estimated $300,000.

Unable to afford a full crew, Coscarelli also took on director of photography and editing duties. His father, Dac Coscarelli, receives a producer credit for providing a large chunk of the film’s funding. Additional financing was invested by doctors and lawyers, accruing a total estimated budget of $300,000. His mother, Kate Coscarelli, served as production designer, wardrobe stylist, and makeup artist under different pseudonyms, and she later wrote the novelization.

Hot off the success of John Carpenter’s Halloween, AVCO Embassy Pictures purchased Phantasm for distribution. It was released on March 28, 1979 in California and Texas before expanding to other territories and becoming a box office success. It spawned four sequels, with Coscarelli and the core cast on board throughout, along with a cult following that counts Quentin Tarantino, Rob Zombie, Snoop Dogg, and JJ Abrams (who named Star Wars: The Force Awakens‘ Captain Phasma in its honor) among its ranks.

PHANTASM Remastered

The film embraces nightmare logic – in part by design, as Coscarelli drew influence from Suspiria; partly the result of extensively editing down an overlong first cut to a tight 89 minutes. The it-was-all-a-dream ending is a rare one that doesn’t undermine the entire movie that preceded it. Not every plot point is spelled out for the viewer, and some dots may not completely connect, but the narrative is conveyed in such an engrossing manner that it hardly matters.

A particularly striking pair of back-to-back sequences occur at the conclusion of the first act. Following a late-night graveyard excursion, the camera pulls out on a shot of a sleeping Mike to reveal his bed in the cemetery with The Tall Man poised over him while ghouls attack from their graves. The next day, Mike witnesses The Tall Man affected by the chill of Reggie’s ice cream truck via a spine-tingling slow-motion zoom.

The special effects also shine, from flying metallic spheres that suck the blood out of victims’ heads to lifelike severed fingers that bleed viscous yellow gore. The visuals are supplemented by progressive music composed by Fred Myrow and Malcolm Seagrave, to whom Coscarelli recommended electronica maestro Vangelis and Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. Despite its repetition throughout the film, the power of their haunting musical theme is never diluted.

The cast was populated by amateurs, but occasionally hammy performances are far outweighed by naturalistic character moments, best exemplified by the scene in which Jody and Reggie jam on their guitars together. In addition to serving the plot by introducing the tuning fork that plays an integral role in the finale, it allows the viewer to better connect with the characters, thereby making their peril all the more frightening.

It’s character building like this that makes Phantasm‘s exploration of death so effective. The film is ultimately about Mike coming to terms with the passing of Jody, portrayed as the cool older sibling every adolescent wishes they had. Mike confronts his fear by dreaming up a final adventure with his dearly departed brother in which they manage to defeat death itself, represented by The Tall Man. Upon doing so, he’s awakened to the harsh reality that Jody died in a car accident, allowing Mike to reach the final stage of grief: acceptance.

Continue Reading