The world of The Strain just can’t catch a break. Originally created by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan in a trilogy of horror novels that were published between 2009 and 2011, the characters have to contend with a killer vampire virus that’s slowly infecting planet Earth and knocking regular homo sapiens a couple of notches down the food chain. That’d be bad enough, but the end of season 3 saw a global thermonuclear apocalypse being added to the list of problems.
The resulting nuclear winter blotted out the sun, which is literally the last thing you want to happen when you’re living on a planet full of vampires – known in the series as strigoi. Nine months later, as season 4 opens, the strigoi are essentially running the world, with big baddie the Master establishing a totalitarian regime blood-fuelled regime known as “The Partnership,” all propped up by an enslaved human underclass. If you think your boss is an asshole, then try working for actual fascist vampire monsters!
Given that this is the fourth and final season, we should expect some serious pyrotechnics and action as the beleaguered human resistance, of whom Corey Stoll’s Dr. Goodweather is a key member, continue to fight back. The trailer gives us a peek into what’s to come and looks like it’s more than about to live up to the kinetic action and Del Toro-style body horror that’s made The Strain a hit amongst genre fans thus far. Admittedly, the show has gone a bit downhill in recent years, but we’re hopeful that it’ll go out on a high note and remind us just why we fell in love with it in the first place.
The Strain season 4 sinks its teeth into viewers on FX on July 16th 2017.