The Strain Complete Series, Seasons 1-4 [DVD] [2018]

The Strain was a tv show that ran for four seasons, and was based on a series of horror novels. These see New York fall under the spell of a vampire like being called the Master, as he turns people into his own minions in order to spread his plan for world domination. And an eclectic group of individuals form the only resistance to him.The show was broadcast on Watch in the uk. Initially. They just didn't bother to show the last season, though. Which aired in the states in 2017.But now frustrated British viewers, you can see it! All ten episodes of the fourth season are in this box set. This is a box set of the whole thing, so you get the first three seasons as well. There is no way to get the fourth season on it's own. But after waiting this long to see it, that may not be an issue for you.This is a region two dvd, so will work on British players.The show is gory and violent in the extreme, thus is a fifteen certificate.Thus this review is slanted solely towards the last season. If you want to know more about the first three, look at the product pages for their dvd releases. Because this is just the discs from those repackaged with three for season four, in one big box of fourteen discs. Thus all forty six episodes are here.Languages and subtitles on the discs:Languages: English.Subtitles; English.All episodes run forty three minutes. Approx.The last season is a good finale. It does follow on from what happened at the end of season three, although some time has passed in between that and this. It does create a very believable and scary at many times setting for the story. And it does know where it is going all the time.The first five episodes do have a lot of setting up of things to do, thus there are a few where not all the regular characters appear. But from episode six onwards, this really starts to move. And it's a gripping ride thereafter.It does become rather hard to let these characters go as it gets closer to the end. But it does give good and just resolutions to all concerned. Some of which are memorable and satisfying. And I did find myself missing them once it was done.A very good watch. It's been a bit of a wait. And it cost more than it should have to get this, but I'm glad I got to see it at last.Extras on the season four discs:Deleted scenes: Five of them, spread over seven mins. They can only be watched in a row. These are all characters moments that don't advance the action. which is the kind of thing that usually gets cut. They are all worth a watch. Two involving Mr. Quinlan are really good.Gag reel: This starts with a clever title sequence that is a parody of title sequences from shows of old, which is fun. Whilst as with most gag reels there's too much of people just being silly, there are some genuinely good outtakes in here. Which should teach you a good lesson about turning your phone off. You do end up wishing it was longer than three minutes.Coping with the Strain: a therapy session. A brilliant little feature running five mins, which has all the characters attending a therapy session. It's incredibly funny and has to be watched.Inside look: eleven three min long promo pieces/overviews of certain aspects of episodes. That as usual with this kind of thing use clips and sound bites from the actors. They can be watched individually or all in a row. They're brief but not bad.

This has a very coherant, thorough and beleivable story line, loved the ending. Glad i bought it, nice addition to my collection. Great character development and Gus is hot!

Review for The Strain Boxset. A Rollercoaster series from start to finish!! I Have watched this twice now and the story still has Great Momentum. Sci-fi /vampire horror, closer to 'The Thing' in vivid coolness than any gothic pantomime or teenaged soap..and so much the better for it ! Vampire/ creature Epidemic story structure, as characters try to find a cure to win this war, and over over and over fail. Characters are a dynamic lot and in each series you think they may have found the solution... an Epic battle that mixes science and magical parts. The Story starts quietly in our everyday modern world and just grows and grows larger. The different 'stages' of the story work really well from series to series. As we move from the usual human concerns to a different world. Human Evil in all its official forms is targeted as culpable for not stopping the spread of ancient evil, and in this way the message of the piece is hammered home again and again. Our main, very valiant, characters are fighting both vampyric evil and the evil of other humans who collaborate or/ only look out for themselves. As a dark fairytale of human moral failings, it is excellent. So the series has more to say than just entertainment alone. Real content appreciated!!

Really enjoyable first two series then starts to tail off. Great idea just needed better execution at the end.

The books are fantastic because of the character development, pacey plotting, great atmosphere and really good underlying mythology.By the final episode my first thought was not total parity.....which I did not expect in the first place, because as the makers say in the extras, TV is a different tool and the driving force of The Strain on TV would not quite work in the same way. The great news is I think the makers got everything right except the underlying mythology. All the other changes do work to a point, but he absence of this mythology, having read the books before watching the series, really did leave a notable sense of disappointment. Would love to have seen the angels ascend from earth at the very end and Setrakian uncovering how the Strigoi came to be in more detail. Hence the one star dropped.Onthe other hand I really liked the surprise elements and detours in the series for what they are mostly. The highlight and most emotional part for me were the 3rd and 2nd to last episodes of the final series and not the last unfortunately. But the character pay offs mostly feel earned and Setrakian final stand brought a rear to my eye. The effects were mostly excellent, music and sound design really fits. Apart from the mentioned episodes the start, much like the books was brilliantly directed by Del Toro.I will watch and read both again in a few years but I'm pretty sure it would have been sooner if the tv version of the mythology was richer.

It worked from start to end. And unlike some series they wrote and filme d the ending.

Why are you reading this review? Why waste time? Buy this series. Buy it now! A throughly modern, brilliant, update on vampires. And proper vampires, not the teenage shall I date a vampire or a wolf rubbish. No. Proper vampires bent on world domination. Great stories and brilliant acting. Get it. Watch it. Watch it again. Tell everyone.