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The Strain – “Creatures of the Night” Review. Nailed It!

Season 1, Episode 8

Air date: Sunday, August 31, 2014 at 10PM ET/PT on FX

Rating: ★★★★★

 

 

“This is what they thrive on – fear, panic, divisiveness. There is strength in numbers; we must make a plan and act together.” – Abraham Setrakian

The Strain is amazing! Creepy and intense, frightening to watch sometimes, but you just can’t help being drawn in. As much as I want to see a continuation, even a small tidbit of where the strigoi SWAT team comes from in last week’s “For Services Rendered,” I can’t say I’m at all disappointed in what goes down in this week’s “Creatures of the Night.” If the title doesn’t clue you in, this episode explores how the newborn strigoi—a type of vampire, according to our resident strigoi guru Abraham (David Bradley)—behave when stalking their prey. I thought they were mindless, blood thirty creatures, but on the contrary, they are clever in how they corner their victims.

Nailed It!

“Creatures of the Night” follows in the same gripping path as previous episodes of The Strain. We find several key characters unexpectedly joining forces against a group of strigoi at a local convenient store late at night. My hopes after meeting Vasiliy Fet (Kevin Durand) in “The Box” come to fruition as he allies himself with Abraham, Eph (Corey Stoll), Nora (Mia Maestro), and Jim (Sean Astin) when they meet under duress in a closed medical supply store, each looking for UV lamps. We’ve seen what sunlight can do to the strigoi, so in theory, UV lamps should do the same. I feel like this group is the human version of DC Comics’ Justice League. While the characters are without super powers, they each have their own strengths to bring to the table in their efforts to eradicate the strigoi. Eph, Nora, and Jim have medical training on their side. Abraham has firsthand experience dealing with the strigoi, and knows their history better than anyone. Armed with his sword and a nail gun, Abraham gives new meaning to the phrase ‘nailed it.’ And Vasiliy knows how to exterminate vermin. He also has intimate knowledge of the sewer systems, but that knowledge doesn’t come in to play just yet. In “Creatures of the Night,” their battle is top side, and it’s not pretty.

What the world needs now, is giant tanning beds!

We learn more about the strigoi from Abraham, and what he says is enlightening. Eph notices how clever these strigoi are and Abraham reveals, “In a month, they’ll be fully matured.” Only one month? When Abraham explains about “chosen” ones and the hierarchy, “Even among the strigoi there is a caste system,” it really makes you wonder how long the strigoi have been plotting to take over society. I really enjoy getting these clues about the strigoi but you would think Abraham would be more forthcoming with the rest of the gang if they are to be successful in helping him fight the good fight.

 

Random Thoughts

Does The Master want to dominate the world? He obviously can’t turn every human into strigoi, as they need a food source. I wonder if the strigoi SWAT team members were also like Eichorst (Richard Sammel), higher ranking, more civilized strigoi that rebelled against The Master.

We meet our lovely computer hacker again, Dutch (guest star Ruta Gedmintas). Her bragging about her part in bringing down the cell phone and internet services is silenced now that she’s facing possible death by giant tongued monsters. I wonder if she’ll try to reverse what she’s done now that she’s come face to face with the strigoi.

Am I the only one who wants to shake some sense in to Hassan (Vasanth Sarangapani), the convenience store clerk? In the face of eminent danger, he is busy tallying up the tab as Eph and the gang use things inside the convenience store to help them escape. That bullet-proof glass cubicle you’re standing in won’t save you, Hassan.

Were you cringing when they were making their way to the bread truck? Even armed with UV lamps, it is such an intense situation. These strigoi are proving to be cleverer than I ever imagined. And not everyone makes it out of the convenience store.

 

Overall

“Creatures of the Night” advances the plot further, giving us more clues about the strigoi and their origins. What happens with Eph, Nora, and Jim proves that sometimes, when you are too close to someone, your rationale begins to falter. Eph thinks that somehow the UV light is a “cure” to this “virus.” Could it be possible? If they put all the infected people under massive UV lamps, will it kill the worms? Even if that works, the worms’ desiccated remains would still be inside the hosts’ bodies. Wouldn’t that be more harm than good?

What did you think of “Creatures of the Night?” I’d love to hear from those who’ve read the books and what they think of the series adaptation. I welcome all comments. Tweet me @judybopp or leave a comment below.

 

Tune into The Strain, Sundays at 10PM ET/PT, only on FX.

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Photos: ©2014 FX Networks. All Rights Reserved.

 

Judy Manning

Dream chaser extraordinaire! Judy tends to be a tad sarcastic and kind of goofy! She is an avid admirer of all things supernatural, paranormal, celestial and mystical. She loves to read, write, and watches way too much TV. She enjoys many genres of film and music (and let's be honest, most music from the 80s). She also has a wicked sweet tooth. Cupcakes beware.

Judy Manning

Dream chaser extraordinaire! Judy tends to be a tad sarcastic and kind of goofy! She is an avid admirer of all things supernatural, paranormal, celestial and mystical. She loves to read, write, and watches way too much TV. She enjoys many genres of film and music (and let's be honest, most music from the 80s). She also has a wicked sweet tooth. Cupcakes beware.