BBCThe BBC and Netflix have teamed up to create the ultimate gruesome drama with a remake of Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
With Halloween just days away I think it’s safe to say we’re at the height of the spooky season, with cobwebs decorating shop windows and horror films filling up the TV schedule.
So, what better time to be re-introduced to history’s most infamous vampire? No, not Edward Cullen, but Dracula himself.
Check out the trailer for the new show here:
The three-part series stars Danish actor Claes Bang, who won the award for Best Actor at the European Film Awards for his performance in 2017’s The Square.
Bang brings Count Dracula back to life in his natural habitat, Transylvania, in 1897, though the series follows the blood-drinking vampire as he draws his plans against Victorian London.
If the teaser trailer is anything to go by, Dracula doesn’t hold back when it comes to displaying that classic gothic gruesomeness through scenes which definitely aren’t for the faint of heart.
BBCIn just 46 seconds, we see a fly entering someone’s eyeball, a horrific shot of a loose fingernail, a disturbingly aggressive scene of someone hacking into some rare meat and, in true Dracula style, numerous bats.
We also get a first look at Bang in character, as he tells a terrified victim: ‘Try and stay calm, you’re doing very well.’
The stomach-churning scenes are accompanied by numerous screams that really highlight the series’ role as a horror, though unfortunately it’s not one we’ll be watching this Halloween.
While Dracula finished filming in August, the BBC and Netflix haven’t shared its official release date yet, instead opting for a vague ‘coming soon.’
BBCThe series is certainly one to look forward to however, as it’s written by Sherlock’s Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat, and directed by Jonny Campbell (Westworld), Damon Thomas (Killing Eve) and Paul McGuigan (Sherlock), suggesting the creators will work to make it follow in the footsteps of the great BBC dramas before it.
Speaking about the series, Moffat told the Radio Times:
There’s lots of things that are challenging about Dracula.
Having an evil lead character is actually really difficult. That’s been the main challenge I think. But how we’ve handled that you’ll have to wait and see.
BBCThough there’s only three episodes in the series, they will each be feature-length, ensuring viewers get their fill of the iconic vampire.
Bang is joined in the series by The Crown’s John Heffernan, as well as Dolly Wells, Joanna Scanlan, Morfydd Clark, Sacha Dhawan, Jonathan Aris, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Lyndsey Marshal, Chanel Cresswell, Matthew Beard and Lydia West.
Dracula will air on BBC One in the UK and on Netflix around the world.
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Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.