The Strain: The Complete Third Season - DVD Review

[Michael Scott]

The Strain: The Complete Third Season

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie
I have a weakness for just about anything from Del Toro, as his visual style is extremely unique, and he has made some incredibly fun movies over the years. With three novels to pull from, I have fallen in love with his latest production in The Strain as he has put the FEAR back in vampires once again (some of the visuals and characters remind me very strongly of Blade 2) and created a disturbing war between humans and mutants known as the Strigoi (basically modified vampires with a more “monstrous” appetite). Season 1 was fantastic, but season 2 took a slight dive with over repetitiveness and a penchant for going off on rabbit trails ala The Walking Dead. I was worried that season 3 was going to be more of the same (being that most follow up seasons to a good show start declining, even if only slightly), but Season 3 has taken a leaner, more mean approach, with better storylines and single focus that cuts out much of the filler and pushes the storyline forward at a good clip.

Season 4 is going to be the final season by all accounts, as the creators felt very strongly about not overstaying their welcome like so many other long running shows. This means Season 3 gets right to the point as the bioweapon used in the previous season hasn’t actually taken care of the Strigoi problem like they had hoped. Eph (Corey Stoll) has spiraled downward in an alcohol fueled depression due to the death of Nora last season as well as the kidnapping of his son Zach (Max Charles), while the rest of the New York City survivors are just getting by. Fet (Kevin Durand) is reveling in his new job as the head of the New York City Anti-Strigoi strike force, something which he is most CERTAINLY suited for. Sebtrakian and Quinlan are pouring over the Occido Lumen, and the Master is still inching his way forward as he tries to take over New York City.

The first few episodes of the series are easily the weakest, and actually had me a little disappointed when I first starting watching the show, with the plotlines featuring two of the weakest characters (Dutch and Zach) and the pacing was inexorably slow. However, once those two episodes are out of the way the show kicks back into high gear and steadily goes up and up and up as the 10 episodes progress. Which brings me to another point. I’m usually an opponent of shortening shows as it feels like you get less and pay the same, but serialized shows like The Strain tend to benefit greatly from a trimmer runtime and less episodes, allowing for less filler material to be present. The shortening of the show to 10 episodes in season 3 helps tighten up the belt a bit as season 2 tended to wander. This is not the case with season 3 and I, for one, am greatly pleased with the changes made.

For those who have been keeping up with the timeline, the entire 2 seasons prior has taken place over the course of about 3 weeks. Most shows tend to mirror the running “time” of a season’s releases (meaning usually they take place over the course of 6-8 months), but shows like 24 changed that up a bit, and The Strain falls into the “unique” category. However, there is a weird change around the episode “Madness”, which pushes the show forward about 2 weeks. A move that actually feels shocking the in show due to almost doubling the time elapsed, and it also allows a HUGE changeup to occur. The Master has a much more powerful grip on the city, while people like Councilwoman Feraldo (Samantha Mathis) are now slipping away as she realizes that they’re fighting a losing battle.

This isn’t the only changeup that happens before the end of the season. Quite a few shocking events transpire that really change the course for the final and fourth season. The strigoi make a MASSIVE victory in Central Park, the Master makes a move on the powerful ancients, and the defenders of the city are stuck with their back against the wall for the shocking season finale.




Rating:

Rated TV-MA by the MPAA




Video:

The Strain: The Complete Third Season is the first time the show has been on DVD ONLY (I’ve only watched the Blu-ray releases of the first two season so I can’t give a direct comparison to those DVDs), and while that is disappointing for sure, the DVDs are quite capable in their own right. The show has a distinctly shadowing and dark veneer, which means that blacks have to be on cue to deal with the cool blue color grading and copious shadows. For the most part the discs look clean of any real issues, with some black crush being the singular pervasive “issue” that crops up in the DVDs limited bandwidth. Fine detail for faces and makeup up the Strigoi look impressive, and the colors themselves seem well saturated. Some digital noise is present in a few of the underground shots, but overall it’s a very clean looking DVD.







Audio:

It’s no DTS-HD MA lossless, but The Strain’s 5.1 Dolby Digital mix is more than capable of replicating the cramped feeling of the show. Dialog is spot on perfect, and surround usage is high with all sorts of creepy ambient noises bleeding in, or the chaotic sounds of combat. Directionality is superb, and LFE solid enough. My only “complaint” with the LFE is that this season feels a bit lighter in the bass. It’s still there, and you can hear it come out and play with some heavy machine gun fire, or a helicopter flying overhead, but I was actually a little surprised at how little bass response there was for the rest of the show.
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Extras:

• Under Siege Companion Series Intro with Carlton Cuse
• The Strain: Under Siege—Companion Series
• Vamp Boom— Music Video
• Deleted Scenes
• Gag Reel

Final Score: ​

The Strain: The Complete Third Season is a nice change of pace considering the slightly weak season 2, and the tighter runtime allows for a much strong push forward to the main story than anticipated. The events that transpire during this year make for a huge setup for the final season, and I can’t wait. The show has a lot going for it, and it’s nice to see a “normal” cable TV show go this dark and this “sci-fi” without going into complete melodramatic fits. I was a bit saddened that Fox decided to nix the Blu-ray release of season 3, even though the previous 2 seasons received Blu-ray sets, but the TV market for home video has taken a hit the last 5-10 years and it is what it is. The DVD looks and sounds solid considering the dark nature of the show, and the extras are about on par with what we’ve come to expect from the previous two years. Recommended for a good watch



Technical Specifications:

Starring: Corey Stoll, David Bradley, Kevin Durand
Created by: Guillermo Del Toro, Chuck Hogan
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 MPEG 2
Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Rated: TV-MA
Runtime: 440 Minutes
DVD Release Date: June 27th, 2017

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Good Watch

 

[Sonnie]

Would consider this binge worthy Mike?

I have been considering it on Netflix or Hulu (if it's even available there). I don't think I'd buy it... or I know I wouldn't buy it.

 

[Michael Scott]

did you like things like Hellboy I and II or Blade II? it's distinctly reminiscent of things like that in TV form, but with a post apocalyptic vibe to it... I enjoy it a lot and I think the show works better when you binge it personally.

 

[Sonnie]

Yeah... those were pretty good movies. I may as well give it a spin and see what happens.

 

[Sonnie]

In the middle of season 2 right now... fairly good so far, although kind of weird.

It has some similarities to The Walking Dead... main character is losing his wife to the plague, and he has a stubborn young son. Then the head plays a part in killing the infected... if you get bit or scratched by an infected, you become infected and turn pretty quickly... there is no cure (naturally)... and a few other things that happen from time to time.

 

[Michael Scott]

yeah, it has a few similarites to the boring dead. I like that they're actually creepy for a change. Something that has been missing quite a bit in modern monster movies/shows

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I heard of this series but never caught it. I will check it out.

 

[Sonnie]

I think it is better than TWD, although I liked the first and second season of TWD pretty well... after that, well... it really did get boring. Then when they started lining folks up and hitting them in the back of the head with a baseball bat, and knocking a guy out to remove his leg for dinner and then him waking up to realize he's eating his own flesh... well... time for me to move on to something else. It was a little too sick for me.

Watching decapitation use to bother me, but I guess I got use to it somehow... at least it doesn't seem to bother me nearly as much now. Sure couldn't watch The Strain if it did... then again, they don't bleed red either ... lol. That long tentacle like tongue with blooding sucking pinchers is pretty wicked though.

 

[Michael Scott]

lol, I'm immune to gore, but TWD just got boring after a while. I can't even watch it anymore.

 

[tripplej]

lol. I stop watching TWD as well for the same reasons. Wow, seems like TWD just went down hill.