In 2009, director Guillermo Del Toro and writer Chuck Hogan gave readers a whole new breed of terror in the novel The Strain. The premise is a plane lands in the middle of JFK International Airport, all passengers deceased. Dr. Ephriam "Eph" Goodweather, a scientist working for the CDC, investigates its ill-fated crew to find four known survivors and an unusually large coffin in the cargo. As a solar eclipse forms over New York, the city becomes invaded by unknown violent and blood-thirsty breeds of vampires. What will be the fate of those caught in the rise of the undead?

The Strain may seem like a typical vampire novel but it mixes old and new mythos of vampire legends, introduces a great cast of characters, blends horror and science very well, and is co-written by one of my all time favorite film directors. The vampires may not be memorable or make such an impact like the great Dracula and Nosferatu (which you could argue Nosferatu is a technical rip-off of Dracula), but it sure is a hell of a lot better than Meyer's whimpy, emo, sparkling fairies that has now shamed the vampires we know and love. 

Since then, Del Toro has been trying to push this book to become an epic TV series. The FX Channel finally is revealing the pilot episode to the novel and its sequels starring Corey Stoll (North Country) as Eph, David Bradley (Harry Potter series), and Kevin Durand (Legion, X-Men Origins Wolverine). It has been a while since I read the novel so I can't say exactly what will happen in the show. 

If you're into horror and vampire stories, I highly recommend that you give the book a try. If you're looking for a new show that properly shows off the blood-thirsty nature of vampires without sparkles, then I suggest give the pilot a watch tonight on FX (check your local listings). Later on will will give my full review of the series if anyone is interested.