content warning: gore, foul language, death by suicide (discussed), child abuse (discussed), racial violence (discussed)

The content warning is tricky on this special. The contestants open up a lot about their pasts and some touch on sensitive subjects. The Black Lives Matter movement is a recurring topic of discussion, as is child abuse. These contestants are choosing to share their stories with us, but some of those stories are quite traumatic. Unlike other reality shows, this program actually treats these moments with respect and sensitivity. I felt safe watching content that can be upsetting for me, but my experience is not the universal experience. Please be safe while watching.

The Boulet Brothers know horror. They have built a successful brand around understanding what makes the genre tick and applying it to incredible drag looks and acclaimed live events. The jump to a reality TV competition was a natural fit, especially since they already ran a horror-themed drag pageant as one of their events.

The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula is an international sensation featuring all kinds of drag performers competing in thematic challenges like writing and performing as survivor girls in a slasher film or doing vampire-inspired burlesque. The losing contestants in a given week are forced into an extermination challenge. They confront real fears with actual dangers, such as being buried alive, jumping from a plane, or stapling tips to their bodies. The ultimate loser is exterminated in a horror movie style kill scene. The winner is the last one left alive to take the crown.

The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula: Resurrection is a Halloween special. Seven previous contestants who did not take the crown compete in a pageant to win $20000 and a guaranteed spot to compete on season four. Due to pandemic and quarantine, the contestants competed near their homes with the help of the Boulet Brothers’ production team.

The special looks amazing. This is among the Boulet Brothers’ best work yet. As the show has grown and more networks have become involved, the production values have skyrocketed. Season one was a YouTube series. Season two was made with support from OutTV in Canada. Season three had a distribution deal with Amazon Prime and landed on Netflix. This special (and hopefully the show moving forward) is a Shudder exclusive. That would be a perfect pairing of creator and platform.

One of the standout features of Dragula is the quality of contestants on the show. The Boulet Brothers have said many times before that they have no intention of casting “filler” contestants. What’s a “filler” contestant? Many reality shows intentionally cast people who have no chance of winning just to give the preferred contestants a buffer to help them survive the early weeks of the competition.

On Dragula, every contestant could potentially take the crown. Some of the early out contestants are previous winners of the in person Dragula contest. A few of the best known contestants outside of Dragula struggled until their eliminations. Comparatively new performers made it to the finale and soared through the contest. The worst look and performance on Dragula is miles better than the worst presentations on similar competitive reality shows.

Casting Resurrection could not have been easy. You could pick any of the 26 contestants who did not win the show and they would be a threat to win a second chance competition like this. The mix of contestants includes finalists, early outs, and everything in between. Some are fan favorites, and others are quite polarizing. What ties them all together is a clear drive to prove what they can do with a second chance at the show.

The format of the special is great. Each contestant gets plenty of interview packages to show off who they are as a person outside of their performance. These contestants know each other now and are comfortable speaking about each other. The edit puts their confessionals in conversation with each other to create dramatic tension even though the contestants cannot film together.

Perhaps the greatest asset of this special is the contestants competing without having to compare themselves directly to each other. Seven talented drag artists get to produce original witch, ghost, and vampire looks/presentations with the support of the Boulet Brothers. They get to create their own vision for these categories without having to look at what other people bring to the challenge.

This style of reality show is a tough mental game. You can see how even some of the contestants on this special defeated themselves in the contest by getting caught up on what everyone else could afford to bring on their original seasons. The Boulet Brothers are incredibly fair in their judgements on this series, critiquing the contestants on what they do with the category, not necessarily on who could afford to bring the most to the competition. But in the moment it’s hard to see that.

I really don’t want to give too much away about this special. The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula: Resurrection is spectacular. Fans of the series will not be disappointed. I’d even say people who’ve never tried the show before should use this episode as an introduction to what the show is about. It’s a perfect piece of horror entertainment for the season.

The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula: Resurrection is streaming on Shudder.

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