Sinking our Teeth into Netflix’s Dracula: Review (New Podcast Episode!)

Dracula (BBC and Netflix, 2020) is the latest adaptation of Bram Stoker’s classic Victorian Gothic vampire novel. Dark, gory, and beautifully cinematic, it both returns to and departs from the novel in many different ways. Indulging liberally in well recognised gothic and horror tropes, locations and characters, it sinks its teeth into the long history of Dracula adaptations with relish, bundling them together into something that feels both fresh and familiar. But the question of how successful this combination is has stoked (sorry, I had to) some contention.

Developed by Mark Gatiss and Stephen Moffat (the creative minds behind BBC’s hit series Sherlock, which notably translates the Victorian Holmes and Watson into present-day London) the series consists of three episodes that each differ significantly in tone, theme, location and even time from each other. The critical response has been quite divided, especially within the academic community of Victorian and Gothic scholars. While some critics celebrated the show (especially its heady indulgence in every gothic and horror trope under the sun), others were left less than impressed. After a headlong dash through all three episodes, I sat down with Dr Stephanie Russo of Macquarie University’s From the Lighthouse podcast to chat about our responses to the series and work out why it has so divided its viewership. I really had a lot of fun with this one: vampire lore, gothic traditions, sexuality, bad-ass Nuns, sexy vampires, disease and contagion, technology, new women and the mysterious disappearance of Mina make for very interesting discussions! Listen to the podcast episode below:

or follow this link: https://www.fromthelighthouse.org/2020/love-it-or-hate-it-the-new-bbcnetflix-dracula