TV Show Review

TV Review: THE STRAIN: Season 1, Episode 8: Creatures of the Night [FX]

David Bradley The Strain

FX’s The Strain Creatures of the Night TV Show Review. The Strain: Season 1, Episode 8: Creatures of the Night picks up where we left off in the subway terminal. After tussling with Abraham (David Bradley) and catching a bullet in his leg, Eichorst (Richard Sammel) makes a dazzling exit with the help of a subway train. Abraham tells his team the road is going to get a lot tougher now that they injured Eichorst. What he didn’t tell them was the feel of the show was going to change as well.

 Abraham, still scrappy and full of spirit after almost getting taken out by Eichorst, tells his friends they must press on with urgency. While doing so, a discussion begins between Ephraim (Corey Stoll) and Nora (Mia Maestro) that offers to simplify the path to defeating the Strigoi. After all Ephraim has been exposed to, it’s hard to believe he still refuses to admit these creatures are vampires. With all that’s at stake, the one thing missing from this scene is urgency. Abraham tells them The Master will be coming for them and they move like they are in line to see a movie. I’m still waiting for Nora’s character to become more significant. Thus far she is just going along for the ride and her background suggests she should be doing much more. The one thing uncovered here that will move the story along, is the effectiveness of UV light.

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 Jim Kent (Sean Astin) leads the team to a medical supply store in search some UV lights. While rummaging around a dark warehouse, they almost get shot by Vasilly Fet (Kevin Durand), who apparently is thinking like Ephraim now. This confrontation could have taken place minus Fet suddenly being on the same thinking page as Eph. He is resourceful but has not been introduced to us with the intellect of Ephraim. Another thing to consider, Vasilly is not a veteran cop. He would have shot one or more of them in that warehouse in the dark. The man was very shaken after his second confrontation with the Strigoi. I get this is the scene setup to bring them together…it could have been stronger and less predictable. I’m also wondering if there may be a consistency issue. Back in Episode 6, Abraham had some heart issues and dropped some pills. He is just coming off a good scrap with Eichorst and his heart issue hasn’t bothered him. Since arriving at the warehouse, Abraham has been very quiet and has lost his sense of urgency. Actually, all of them seem to have forgotten the urgency issue.

 The rest of the episode takes place in a Convenience Store where the show turns into John Carpenter’s Assault on Precinct 13. Those UV lights need charging so the team stakes out the store…waiting for Vampires to show. One of the cool moments in the store was seeing legendary make up artist, Rick Baker making a cameo and getting killed. The bad, this is where the whole episode starts to veer off course. The strength in this show thus far has been the acting and writing. Episode 8 from jump seemed to never get on track and is changing up the tone. A lot of dialogue takes place in the store and out of left field we meet Dutch Velders (Ruta Gedmintas). There is much going on already and now a hacker who doesn’t mind talking out loud joins the fray. Her introduction is very weak considering the flow Eph and Abraham have built up. No hacker in the world would speak aloud about her illegal activities…in a store full of strangers. Both Abraham and Vasilly get busy dispatching vampires while the UV lights charge. For some reason the other folks in the store cant seem to get that something serious is happening. Vampires are looming about outside and took down a few folks but a few people still want to go outside. The team finds out just how dangerous a tiny scratch can be when Jim gets infected. His wound appears to be a simple nick but the virus spreads inside of him too quick. With time running out on them and the vampires getting closer to breaking into the store, we lose a main character by way of head shot. This was all handled pretty predictable. The team could have taken the lights half charged and made a dash for the Deliver truck and no one else had to die. They waited till one of their members gets killed before doing so. Jim’s crude exit was bland and forced. What we did gain is a relationship between Abraham and Vasilly. These two have taken the role of the muscle of the team. We also gained a hacker who will no doubt come into play in the upcoming episodes. Hopefully in the next episode we will see the dark storyline pick back up and Nora’s character will earn her keep.

Leave your thoughts on this review and this episode of The Strain below in the comments section. For more The Strain reviews, photos, videos, and information, visit our The Strain Page, subscribe to us by Email, “follow” us on Twitter, Tumblr, or “like” us on Facebook.

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Brian Fire

Brian is a screenwriter and visual fx Artist who loves science fiction, drama and follows many TV shows. He is a versatile writer who is published and has written copy for: CompUsa, The California State Lottery and Princess Cruise lines. Every year he attends The Sundance Film Festival and the San Diego Comic Con filling up on his other passions…indie films, comic books and video games.
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