During a press conference today, Guillermo del Toro and Carlton Cuse, the duo behind the upcoming FX series The Strain, fielded a question about the backlash that show’s billboards and advertisements have been receiving.
FX started getting complaints about the disturbing “worm in the eye” key art that has been hanging above buildings/streets in major cities and slapped alongside bus stops. Hell, even a handful of horror pals here in Los Angeles felt it was “too much” for the general public, moreover, children who are seeing it everywhere. Last month, FX made an effort to take a “portion” of them down.
Cuse and Del Toro stand by the art, however. “I think the advertising was bold and imaginative and clearly not for everyone,” said Cuse during the press call ShockTillYouDrop.com was invited to participate in. “I think FX does an incredible job marketing their shows and they want to convey the show was edgy bold and out there. I certainly understand it might have been too far out there for some people, but I personally liked it but I understand it was necessary to make accommodations for those out there.”
Del Toro agreed, the art fits the show and he thinks it works.
“FX knows who their audience is and what kind of advertisement it is. And they’ve created some chilling images for their shows in the past,” Del Toro said. “It’s not for everyone, even though the show has many more layers, I like to believe, as we go on in to the season. But we do go to territories that are extreme. It’s a biological takeover and a body invasion series. We go into places that are extreme and they are extreme because we’re dealing with a fear that is essential – a biological invasion, it’s not a knife slicing someone open. When you come to think about it, it’s the concept that’s disturbing. The worm with the eye, the juxtaposition is powerful and is the most invasive horror we do explore in the show”
The Strain begins this Sunday on FX. I’ve seen the first few episodes and I really dig them. Stay tuned for my weekly recaps…
