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Dracula (2020)

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 8 Critic Reviews

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75

USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 119 Ratings

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6.1

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6.1	Your Score
6.1	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 119 Ratings

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Dracula (2020)

Series Details & Credits

Netflix | Release Date: January 4, 2020

Summary: Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat's version of Dracula (Claes Bang) is set in 1897 as the count sets out for new victims in Victorian London.

Genre(s): Drama, Horror

Recent Episodes

No episode information is currently available for this season

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Metascore

75

Positive:

5

Mixed:

2

Negative:

1

Critic Reviews

100

The Guardian Lucy Mangan

Jan 2, 2020

Season 1 Review: It’s a bloodstained love letter to a classic, beautifully and delicately scented with just the faintest hint of ham gothic yarns need; a homage to all the great Counts who have gone before, but still entirely its own thing. And again, like the best of Gatiss and Moffat’s Sherlocks, with the searching intelligence that promises to flesh out the foundational story. Enjoy sinking your teeth into it all. Read full review

100

The Telegraph Michael Hogan

Jan 3, 2020

Season 1 Review: This Dracula is astonishingly accomplished: fearsomely gripping, fiendishly clever and, in every sense, bloody good. Read full review

80

Wall Street Journal

John Anderson

Jan 3, 2020

Season 1 Review: “Dracula,” the latest in a long, long line of genetic mutations fathered by the 1897 Bram Stoker novel, is quick with a quip. And no small amount of irreverence. ... While there is humor in this “Dracula,” there is also real dread. ... Mr. Bang, who plays Drac rather louche, can also bring a visceral ferocity to the scenes in which his character is challenged or—heaven knows—thwarted. Read full review

80

RogerEbert.com Brian Tallerico

Jan 6, 2020

Season 1 Review: Parts of the premiere's first half are a bit slow and some of the script’s attempts at humor and modern dialogue feel off in terms of tone, but the action really kicks in for the final half-hour in a way that makes it almost impossible for you not to watch another. Read full review

50

TV Guide

Tim Surette

Jan 6, 2020

Season 1 Review: It's a shame that the season finale is awful, because the first episode of Dracula is fanf---ingtastic. Read full review

40

Salon

Melanie McFarland

Jan 6, 2020

Season 1 Review: To call his retelling tedious is understating the problem. ... Laggardly scripting also obscures performances that might otherwise win over the audience. ... [Dolly] Wells’ Agatha is the first episode's saving grace. She gets some of the funniest lines and delivers them with a dry, peppery mien that gives one hope that she’ll survive. Read full review

38

Slant Magazine

Steven Scaife

Jan 6, 2020

Season 1 Review: Whether it’s introducing farcical, overwritten solutions to things like navigating Dracula’s mazelike castle or miniature plot twists that are easy to guess, the series simply feels tiresome in its relentless pleading with us to be impressed. Read full review

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6.1

User Reviews

10

nanamihs

Jan 6, 2020

This series is perfect! It brings us rich script and genius. The horror is explicit there, the elegance of the dracula with seduction was conveyed to perfection. The rotist managed to catch the viewer by surprise, who watched thinking that would have only some things modified from the bookThis series is perfect! It brings us rich script and genius. The horror is explicit there, the elegance of the dracula with seduction was conveyed to perfection. The rotist managed to catch the viewer by surprise, who watched thinking that would have only some things modified from the book Bram Stoker falls into the trap perfectly. I like the confusion the show has, it makes you wonder what is going on all the time, and then makes the revelation with a big surprise. I was delighted with the photography in each scene you get clearly observes the talent of the production. Only thing that the series to be lost was in the relationship of Luci and in the fitting of Jack and the doctor there, but closing with a golden key the end. They fulfilled what was in the plot and objective of the dracula, exposing in a very magnificent and philosophical way… Expand

4 of 9 users found this helpful45

10

zowiter

Jan 6, 2020

Not surprisingly, lots of people don't like the new "Dracula" because it doesn't follow the original plot of the book, but there're lots of versions that all seems to be the same - we all know Count Dracula's story. Gattis and Moffat brought the new vision that rethinks the whole story.Not surprisingly, lots of people don't like the new "Dracula" because it doesn't follow the original plot of the book, but there're lots of versions that all seems to be the same - we all know Count Dracula's story. Gattis and Moffat brought the new vision that rethinks the whole story. Undoudtedly, although the last episode might be a shock, we should admit that that twist in a plot is really extrodinary and gripping to watch. Moffat and Gattis have shown a boldness and an unusual mindset that cannot be underestimated. No matter what you have to see it.… Expand

1 of 6 users found this helpful15

8

The-Would-Be

Feb 4, 2020

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. It's probably important to note up front that of all the classic monster archetypes... werewolves, ghosts, mummies, monsters built by man or emerging from the bowels of the earth or the sea... the mythos of “The Vampire” is definitely my favorite. One of the movies that comes to mind when I think about films that made me want to make movies for a living is 1987's “The Lost Boys”. And, if I were a properly pretentious filmmaker, I'd tell you that my favorite version of the Grandpappy of all vampires is 1931's “Dracula” with Bela Lugosi. Or perhaps even one of the ten times Christoper Lee donned the fangs during the 1950's - 70's. But, truthfully, my favorite version of Dracula is actually 1992's “Bram Stoker's Dracula”. What....? Yes, the one with Keanu Reeves as Johnathan Harker.... excuse me, you realize Gary Oldman, Anthony Hopkins and Winona Ryder were in it too, right? It was visually stunning, atmospheric and the creature FX hold up to this day, thank you very much! *takes deep breathe* Anyway.... I mention all this to make it clear that any vampire story has a pretty high bar to clear for me to be impressed. And, I'm happy to say, the BBC's latest retelling of “Dracula” flew over that bar like The Count exploding into a swarm of bats. The first thing that comes to mind as I think back on this series of television movies is the atmosphere. Every setting we encounter, from The Count's ominous castle keep to the more brightly lit, but no less harsh convent where we meet Dracula's main antagonist Agatha Van Helsing, all seem engulfed in their own forms of imposing darkness. The entire story world going from Noir to a more brightly colored Neo-Noir as the series progresses.

And, although there is definitely gore in this series, so much of the horror is not about blood and guts, but a truly Gothic sense of psychological horror befitting a story about The Count. It seeks to make your skin crawl with disturbing imagery that just feels wrong or unnatural, not simply bloody. It's everything from a physical “transformation” that feels like a lost scene from John Carpenter's “The Thing” to an almost literal dead baby joke.

Speaking of jokes one of the most unique aspects of this retelling is the portrayal of Dracula himself. Most times Dracula is presented as quiet and aloof. The dark, mysterious stranger off in the corner trying not to be noticed as he scouts his next target. But here we have a Count who quite enjoys being the center of attention with a dark sense of humor that borders on being down right snarky at times. Make no mistake though, he's still a predator. Just a predator who likes to play with his food before devouring it. Now, for the literature purists out there, my absolute favorite aspect of this series may be the thing that will turn traditionalists off the most... the reinterpretation of the long standing “rules” of Vampirism. Crosses, needing to be invited in, stakes to the heart, the destructive power of the sun and a number of other tropes are all deconstructed, turned on their head or flat out dismissed. The Van Helsing character spends much of the series trying to separate the fact from the fiction of the old legends about vampires, which culminates in a very interesting explanation of why all of the various weaknesses and limitations of vampires seem so scattershot in her view. My personal favorite of all of these reinterpretations of the “rules” is the explanation of why the cross holds such sway over The Count. The difference between Dracula's explanation and Van Helsing's explanation are vast and both are brilliant storytelling in their own way.

My only real gripe with this series is the finale which, in some ways, feels a bit anticlimactic in comparison to the epic journey through space and time we've been taken on through the rest of the series. After all the blood shed and understanding how the world responds to the type of threat Dracula would represent in the finale's, let's say... “new setting”, I was looking forward to an epic, bloody, physical conflict to try and rid the world of The Count. Instead what we have is a drawn out mental chess match between Dracula and Van Helsing. The performances are strong so it's not bad, it just wasn't what I was hoping for. That said there are so many unanswered questions about Van Helsing, the organization she works for, their goals, which have an air of nefariousness, there are a ton of possible new directions the story could go in, in a second season. I very much look forward to watching.

Final Score: [8.5 out of 10]… Expand

2 of 6 users found this helpful24

4

lo_rez90

Jan 7, 2020

I’ve seen a lot of people say that episode 3 was the drop off, but truth be told, I had a really hard time getting through the first. Tonally, the show is constantly tripping over its feet. The eponymous Dracula is a steaming pile of one-liners, and what’s worse, the show has a tendency toI’ve seen a lot of people say that episode 3 was the drop off, but truth be told, I had a really hard time getting through the first. Tonally, the show is constantly tripping over its feet. The eponymous Dracula is a steaming pile of one-liners, and what’s worse, the show has a tendency to throw in winks and nods to overexplqin its… Expand

3 of 6 users found this helpful33

2

Wraptile

Jan 5, 2020

Teenage drama clubs attempt to make TV series.
Honestly I'm not sure if it's comedy or satire? The acting is so absurd and the writing is as taken straight from 10 year old's cereal box ugh how do you even mess up Dracula story like that.

9 of 14 users found this helpful95

2

leaveit

Jan 15, 2020

I struggle to even explain why this series exists. It brings nothing significant to Dracula. Its greatest innovations are lazily setting 1/3 of the series in modern day and changing van Helsing's sex organs. If you have a problem with the way literature has been written, don't just redo itI struggle to even explain why this series exists. It brings nothing significant to Dracula. Its greatest innovations are lazily setting 1/3 of the series in modern day and changing van Helsing's sex organs. If you have a problem with the way literature has been written, don't just redo it by committee - just forget about it and create something of your own. Only people in the absolute depths of depression and boredom could possibly care about this. I watched it while doing cardio and still managed to be bored.… Expand

5 of 7 users found this helpful52

0

TwiTu

Nov 29, 2020

First episode really kept me watching. It was really good, the setting, the story. I was really impressed, even though you could smell a hint of wokeism.
The second episode got much worse and the wokeism got prevalent to ridiculous levels. Not to mention the writing was atrocious and hadFirst episode really kept me watching. It was really good, the setting, the story. I was really impressed, even though you could smell a hint of wokeism.
The second episode got much worse and the wokeism got prevalent to ridiculous levels. Not to mention the writing was atrocious and had many plot holes and many things simply didnt make sense.
The third episode felt like someone tried to screw me over. At the end I just pointed at the credits running and yelled "WTF is this sh*t"?
The story made no sense, wokeism got even worse and the characters all were empty shells. Things that were established (in a 3-episode series!) were suddenly completely different. The end made NO SENSE whatsoever! As if the writers and director gave up completely.
I have no more words for this garbage, because its also not worth my even my time writing about it. Utter trash.… Expand

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

SEE ALL 31 REVIEWS

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Seasons & Episodes

75

Series Overview
Season 1

75
- Season 1 Overview
  Air Date: January 4, 2020
- No episode information is currently available for this season