THE STRAIN

Can anything new be done with vampires? Yes. Writer/director Guillermo Del Toro (PAN'S LABYRINTH) teams up with his HELLBOY buddy, Ron Perlman, for a new take on an old legend. (Writer Chuck Hogan co-authored the novel.) Ron Perlman calmly relates the story of a vampire attack on New York City, which starts with a planeload of neck-biters from Germany. Perlman is at his best with the dialogue of the main characters, a CDC investigator and a savvy Holocaust survivor who knows how to handle the undead. Perlman pauses at unusual spots and fails to take a breath to let listeners catch up when the setting changes, but, overall, his delivery is powerful. M.S. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2009]