Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan collaborated on a new perspective on the vampire legend, which horror aficionados who are familiar with his work know were a fantastic chance. With each season, we were introduced to a new type of terrifying creature, and the story elicited just as much fear of diseases as it did of vampires. This vampire horror TV series was based on the same-named novel trilogy, and the first season’s thirteen episodes were enough to pique fans’ interest in the subject.
So far, there have been four successful seasons, and the plot began with an unusual idea. Dr. Ephraim Goodweather looks into an unusual incident in which a jet crash-landed with everyone on board dead. They soon discover that the mistake is caused by a lethal viral epidemic with ties to an old type of vampirism. Dr. Goodweather and his men will have their work cut out for them after the infection spreads unchecked. To save the human race! We have seen several scary animals throughout the series, and in this video, we will take a look at some of the most horrific of them.
Strigoi (Vampire)
We have already told you how the portrayal of vampires in this show was very different from the conventional trends of pop culture. These vampires also referred to as Strigoi, were some form of parasitic creatures. They all have supernatural origins because they were created by the Master, the evil vampire, to fulfil his ambitions. The Strigoi are thus the antagonists in the show, and their transformation is truly shocking. When Strain worms, a kind of capillary worm, are introduced into the human host’s bloodstream, they start to transform. This infection can be caused by a vampire attack or simply by a direct invasion by the worm. It is an incurable, fast-acting virus, and it has the power of quickly manipulating the genes of the host. Thus, the human body then undergoes some drastic physical changes in a short span.
One of the first noticeable changes in the human body would be the long, retractable proboscis beneath their tongue. This can extend as much as six feet from the mouth and is called the stinger. It serves both the purpose of feeding and reproduction for the vampire. It can shoot forth in a flash and latch onto the human prey. Then it drains the blood of the victim so that the vampire can gain nourishment from the hunt. This process will also ensure that the human victim is now infected by the capillary worms, and thus it becomes a vicious cycle. When this stinger is developed in the vampires, they are rendered speechless. Their sounds are then restricted to grunts and basic monosyllabic speeches. The body sheds all kinds of human traits, and they lose their hair and fingernails.
The transformed body develops ultra-smooth skin that is completely featureless. They have a pale complexion and even the colouration might change. The Strigoi also develop sharp fangs and talons to replace their lost fingernails. The digestive system also undergoes considerable changes, and the body becomes a lot simpler, being able to derive nutrition from blood directly. The Strigoi are nocturnal, and their body changes accordingly.
For instance, their sense of sight decreases while increasing their sense of hearing and smell. They can hear the blood coursing through the veins in their prey, and they develop a mechanism to trap heat signatures to hunt down their target. During the early days of their transformation, the body is confused and their movements are clumsy. However, things speed up in no time and soon, they become agile and fast.
Their body will never be destroyed unless it is attacked or ruined by sunlight. If a vampire attacks a pregnant woman, the baby will have some vampire-like features along with other characteristics. In short, the Strigoi are super-fast, strong, and physically durable with incredible healing abilities. Thus, they were the formidable antagonists all through the series, and only sunlight or silver weapons could do some damage to them. There are some changes from the book to the TV show, but we loved both versions of the Strigoi.
Master
The Master also went by the name Sariel, and he was one of the seven original vampires known as the Ancients. He was the youngest among them all, and Master was responsible for the strain of vampirism that was spreading through New York City. It is not much of an overstatement to suggest that he was the main villain in this series, and the makers did well to make his appearance such that it would strike fear in the hearts of the viewers. When he first arrived in New York, he inhabited the body of a Polish nobleman from the 19th century named Jusef Sardu. This man was affected with gigantism, and thus, Master was of a towering height and well-built physique. He had completely hairless skin, and his lack of nose added a creepy look to his face. His clawed fingers and evil eyes, together with his strange protruding ears made him look quite threatening.
Since he was one of the original vampires, he did have some special powers up his sleeve. The Master could see through the eyes of all lesser Strigoi, and he had superhuman strength that was a characteristic of all the Ancients. Any one of the original vampires could crush the skull of a grown man without breaking a sweat. The Master was also extremely stealthy and he could appear out of nowhere, moving through shadows. He could also disappear in a flash, and it was very difficult to stay alert for his surprise attacks.
When we speak of vampires, we usually associate them with a weakness to the Sun’s rays. However, the Master seemed quite resistant to the sun’s rays and he could withstand the Sun much more than an average Strigoi. Initially, it was mistaken that the host body of the Master was his own body, but it was soon clear that he had incredible powers that would require some special occult methods to defeat. He always had a steady line of followers who would assist him. He would promise them immortality and make them do his dirty work. Thomas Eichhorst was his trusted lieutenant, and he carried out most of his orders.
The Masters recruited others with his help. He also had an endless source of wealth because a billionaire named Eldritch Palmer was his follower after he promised him immortality. The Master and his several accomplices gained powers since the Solar Eclipse, and their control over New York grew considerably. His ultimate goal was world domination, and every step of his is carefully calculated to fulfil the same. He caused widespread chaos in the city, and even set up processing plants to extract human blood. Even though we discussed some of his special powers, his greatest strength was probably the way he could exploit the weaknesses in humans, such as their greed and vanity. The show wouldn’t have been the same without such a daunting villain!
Vaun
This character was not in the books, but he has similarities with a character called Quinlan. Later, the makers decided to bring him on the show as Vaun, and they introduced Quinlan later. It is a great example of how a character in the original story can be split into two distinct characters and be used for a movie or TV adaptation. Vaun was a very important character in the show, and he served the three American Ancients. He was one of their Sun Hunters, a group of vampire hunters that were tasked to fight the Master and his deadly strain. Some of the Sun Hunters were Strigoi themselves, and they would conduct their operations in broad daylight. The Ancients were known to be in a trance-like state, and Vaun was the spokesperson for them.
Vaun had a pretty stylish costume, and we loved watching him in his trademark tactical gear with a hood. He used silver blades for hunting down the notorious vampires, and he also had a shotgun that could shoot silver bullets. His first appearance in the show was quite heroic, where he saved a bunch of humans from two vampires. He shot the vampires in the head, but he also inspected the humans for any injury.
When he found a girl to be injured, he did not hesitate to shoot her as well, which showed his resolve to fight the vampires without any emotion. In the second season, the stories around Vaun grew more interesting. We got to know that the Master could not hide his thoughts from the Ancients, and they knew how Setrakian was fighting his forces. Vaun even made a deal with Setrakian, stating that the Ancients would help him find Occido Lumen, the medieval manuscript which is the key to defeating the Master. In return, Setrakian would let them know the whereabouts of the Master, whenever he has any information. He had some amazing moments on the show, but later on, it was implied that he was dead. Vaun was replaced but we still missed his endearing presence on the show.
Quinlan
Quinlan is a member of the Born, and he is a very rare human-vampire hybrid. He also has another special identity as the son of the Master. However, he despised the evil nature of his father and he served the three American Ancients as their bodyguard. Quinlan is also a capable hunter and his fighting skills come in very handy in certain missions. He is one of the secondary protagonists of the series and quite a likeable character. To get to his origin, we have to first take a quick look at the history of his dreaded father. The Master was only a few centuries old when he served as the chief adviser to the Roman Emperor Caligula in AD 37-41. He went by the name Thrax back then, and the Emperor provided him with young women to feed on in exchange for his counsel.
The Master wanted all these women to be virgins, but one of them was a newly pregnant woman. He was quite surprised at the oddity of the situation, and she used his shock to fight him off and escaped successfully. He then ordered for her to be hunted down, but she couldn’t be found until she had her child. Since the Master had stung her, the hybrid child born had many attributes of the vampires. But he was not vulnerable to the bloodworms or sunlight like some of the other vampires out there.
This child was Quinlan, and besides his powers, he also shared a telepathic link with his father, and this allowed him to be aware of the Master’s whereabouts. While the others belonging to the Master’s strain could be controlled by him, Quinlan was not subject to his control. The word Quinlan means fit and strong, and there could not be a more appropriate name for this guy. Initially, he chose to stay out of the fight between the Ancients and the Master. However, when the Master killed his human wife and adopted daughter, he dedicated his life to trying to destroy him as revenge. Although he is fairly immune to sunlight, silver can still do damage to him like any strigoi. The show explored him quite well, but it certainly could not match up to the detailing of this character in the books.
The Ancients
To put things simply, the Ancients comprise seven original vampires. Three of these vampires are of the New World, and four are of the Old World. The fallen archangel Ozryel was their progenitor, and the show had an interesting narrative about them. The hosts of the Ancients could be distinguished by possessing a crimson worm, which signified their status and essence. They were more like sentient beings and they use the body only when possessing a host. A rogue Ancient, such as the Master, is extremely difficult to fight. He was the youngest of the seven and America is the site where he originated from.
In some way, the Ancients are connected to the human world, but their influence is supposed to be superficial. All the members of the Ancients have the gift of eternal life, but they give it away selectively. They only consider someone to be illegible of immortality if they have true power and obedience that allows them to exercise restraint over their powers. They were never intended to be evil, and their actions were never supposed to dominate the world. However, the Master is clearly an exception and he has misused his powers several times. The Ancients share a unique bond between them that cannot be broken. Their minds were supposed to be one for all eternity, and it was only when the Master went rogue that the system was affected. There is a very satisfying closure to their narrative towards the end when we see that the works of Dr. Goodweather ensure that they are reunited and reclaimed by heaven.
The Born
We have already spoken about the consequences of when a vampire feeds on a pregnant woman. The baby born will have vampire traits alongside some other characteristics. These are dhampirs, which are hybrids with some human features as well. For instance, they can withstand sunlight and are less vulnerable than the other vampires. The Born is basically a group of such vampires, who are birthed and not turned.
These dhampirs can be extremely intelligent and coupled with their incredible strength they are a force to reckon with. They lack the worms in their blood, and when the deadly Outbreak took place, Quinlan was the only Born accounted for. He worked with some other turned vampires, and he served the Ancients against the malpractices of the Master. His accomplices were full vampires, but they did not work for the Master.
There have been plenty of indications throughout the narrative that the Master was intimidated by the presence of the Born. He was careful to ensure that further Borns were not created, and this was probably because the Born could be more than a match for him. According to the lore of the series, Quinlan is the first Born ever birthed in history, but it is not known whether the previous ones were eliminated. The Born is protected from corruption by birth, but they are capable of being corrupted. Unlike the other vampires, the Born could enjoy intimacy, as it is clear from the fact that Quinlan had a wife. Unfortunately, just like other hybrids, the Born is sterile and cannot sire children. The concept of the Born was well-utilized by the show, especially with characters like Quinlan playing the part to perfection.
Gabriel Bolivar
Gabriel Bolivar was one of the notable antagonists in the show, and he was one of the Master’s trusted undead acolytes. He was portrayed as a womanizing musician, and he had a lot of female admirers. After he was turned into a vampire, his lust transformed into a thirst for blood and he has been seen throughout season one and season two. Even when he was human, he had a rather strange appearance because he wore corpse paint along with his coloured contact lenses. His real name was Dwight Moorshein and his father was a Baptist preacher. However, all he cared about was having his way with the women he lusted for.
In the narrative, Setrakian poisoned the Master, and he had to find a new host. This was when he chose Dwight and he was rechristened as Gabriel Bolivar. In the series, he shows similar behaviour to any generic strigoi. He becomes a faithful servant to the Master, and the latter’s command becomes a duty for him. He feeds upon the humans that he comes across, and there have been instances that point to his magical regenerative abilities.
During an ambush of his building, his proboscis was severed from the middle, but it recovered soon enough. When the Master uses him as a host, the host is supposed to be dead and thus, technically, Bolivar is dead. His biological death, however, occurs much later. Quinlan decapitates Bolivar and the host body is killed. The crimson worm leaves the body and vanishes into the sewers, and it is finally the end of this evil entity.
Mongrels
Mongrels were one of those entities that were created especially for the TV show. These are super-vampires, but they had no mention in the trilogy. If the average Strigoi is strong, the Mongrels are stronger. They are also much faster, and have a more feral nature. The Mongrels would run around on four legs, and you could say that they were like guard dogs for the vampires. The best way to describe them would be a humanoid Rottweiler, and just like a vicious guard dog, they have to be kept on a leash. The Mongrels were shown to have tremendous animalistic powers, and they could easily lash out at humans.
In fact, whenever they were inhuman presence, they had to be muzzled. Quinlan had a good explanation for their extreme speed and strength. According to him, the Mongrels were baked on loam and anointed with a worm exchange over two full moons. The Feelers were created in a similar manner, but they were only kept for a few days at most. The extended time of two months for the Mongrels gave them their enhanced strength and speed. Guillermo del Torro came up with the idea of the Mongrels and it was surely an innovative touch to the narrative.
He wanted Quinlan to have a capable opponent who could give him a tough time, and thus the Mongrels were introduced even though they had no mention in the books. Special directors always manage to think out of the box, and the whole series is a great example of how the makers manipulated the generic vampire stories into something new and exciting with such added characters and creatures!