Dracula Viewers Left Horrified But Howling At 'Terrifying, Vile And Wonderfully Camp' New Drama

The BBC's new adaptation had everyone grossed out, but its dark humour also kept us entertained.
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The story of Dracula has been around for over a hundred years, but for many people, it had never been told quite like how it was on BBC One on New Year’s Day.

The broadcaster’s fresh take on the classic tale well and truly grossed everyone out as the new three-part series made its debut.

Dracula
Dracula
BBC/Hartswood Films/Netflix/Robert Viglasky

It proved to be more gruesome than many could have ever imagined, with stomach-churning scenes straight from the off – including this one, which saw a fly enter character Jonathan Harker’s eye...

Nope. Nope. Absolutely not. #Dracula pic.twitter.com/yZwfXFUVPG

— BBC One (@BBCOne) January 1, 2020

Then there was this scene where his fingernail peeled off his decaying body, after he was bitten by Dracula...

Let’s hope your fingernails survive the ride. #Dracula starts now on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. pic.twitter.com/YwbyU9eP0c

— BBC One (@BBCOne) January 1, 2020

A bat also landed on his love interest Mina’s face and bit her...

Agh I really didn’t see that one coming! 😱 #Dracula pic.twitter.com/B5EFAq3CTq

— BBC One (@BBCOne) January 1, 2020

Oh, and then Dracula emerged – naked, we might add – from the stomach of a terrifying wolf...

Gore! Blood! Nudity! Not for the faint hearted, this is how the makers of Dracula created *that* gruesome wolf scene.

🚨 Contains spoilers… 🚨 pic.twitter.com/QedZ5JXEdA

— BBC One (@BBCOne) January 1, 2020

Oh, and that’s not even mentioning the final scene of Wednesday’s episode, which saw Dracula enter Jonathan’s undead body to trick Mina and Mother Superior, before peeling his face away.

Yep, in all, it was a very horrifying affair – and it seemed most people were not ready for what they witnessed...

*this show contains some scenes that viewers may find disturbing* #Dracula

Me: Oh, it’s BBC one how bad is it going to be

Also me after one nail ripping, two chest stabs, one demon baby and Johnny ripping off his own face: pic.twitter.com/m8xkqthwNq

— Alice May Dear (@According2Al) January 1, 2020

Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to watch #Dracula in HD!!! (Just cos it’s on my new TV) 😝🙀 #Eeewww #Gross #Gorefest 🤢🤢🤢

— 🦄🌲🦄 Cath 🦄🎄🦄 (@purpleglostick) January 1, 2020

Quite possibly the most gruesome #bbc drama for a very long time... #Dracula

— Dits1710 (@Dits1710) January 1, 2020

Feck me this is scarier and more gruesome than I expected #Dracula

— Karen D (@luvvacurry) January 1, 2020

This is honestly the most vile thing I've seen in a long time but I can't take my eyes off it, Claes Bang is almost magnetic as #Dracula, and I am LOVING the one liners from the Nun 😂

— River Song 🌌 (@MegReeves93) January 1, 2020

In a heightened state of terror after watching #Dracula - had to watch #derrygirlsbakeoff to get my heart rate down enough to be ok to sleep... all the windows triple checked 🧛🏻♂️ now looking for a nice cross

— hat margolies (@fabhat) January 2, 2020

Omg don’t think I’ll sleep after watching this 😱😱 bbc ? More like a horror channel scared the poop outa me 💩 #Dracula

— ✧ 🎀 𝒜𝓁𝓁𝒾 𝑀𝒸𝒶𝓃𝒹𝓇𝑒𝓌 🎀 ✧ (@yanvey) January 2, 2020

🧛♂️ OMG... #Dracula was freakin terrifying. Well done @Markgatiss and partner. As a fan of the book and all things Drac related, I thought I'd seen it all. I can see the Louis Jourdan influence, but on steroids!

— Saturnicus (@Nick71914256) January 2, 2020

Safe to say, being the massive wimp that I am, that I absolutely shat myself at #Dracula tonight and (living in an old church with a graveyard next door) I will probably not be getting much in the way of sleep for the foreseeable future... pic.twitter.com/ZZYaLMmJDN

— Dawn (@gariochquine) January 1, 2020

Well, watching #Dracula was probably a bad idea. ABSOLUTELY BLINKING TERRIFYING!!!!! pic.twitter.com/m1gPDJn6K3

— Claire Sutton 💁🏼👜👩🏼💻👸🏼 (@ClaireLSutton) January 2, 2020

But just because it had everyone terrified didn’t mean they hadn’t enjoyed it – in fact, the drama’s dark humour, one-liners and campy dialogue were widely praised...

did enjoy them taking the focus off dracula & onto the other characters tho (sister agatha for pm!) & the balance of gore & camp humour #dracula

— 🎗 delightfully depressing (@emlouiii) January 2, 2020

Superb reworking of #Dracula. Just the right amount of horror, camp and laughs. I thought it was so beautifully written. Can't wait for the next episode.

— Amanda Jenkins (@froggygoggles) January 2, 2020

#Dracula is as camp as a row of tents at Christmas and I’m LOVING it. @Billymawa Sister Agatha is our new gurl 👊🏼 pic.twitter.com/tYqmQV7f8A

— JFS (@Chickenbutty08) January 1, 2020

#Dracula... managed to be wonderfully camp, very, very funny and deliciously scary 🧛♂️😱😆 Loved it! 👏@BBCOne@Markgatiss@DollyDollywells@claesbang

— Lulu76 (@LouiseTollick) January 2, 2020

I enjoyed it. Wasn’t what I was expecting. More camp than I was expecting, although yes very dark. Dracula is a sarcastic fuck which I kind of dig tbh.

— Liam Behan (@Lima0212) January 1, 2020

I’m all your nightmares at once, I’m an intelligent woman with a crucifix

Sister Agatha is 2020’s first heroine #Dracula pic.twitter.com/s1lM2FIGwr

— Alistair Canlin (@alcanlin) January 1, 2020

"Like many women my age I'm trapped in a loveless marriage, maintaing appearances in order to keep a roof over my head" We stan Sister Agatha #Dracula

— James Shaddock (@jpshaddock) January 1, 2020

The new adaptation of Dracula has been written by Sherlock creators Mark Gatiss and Stephen Moffat, who you will also remember as the former boss of Doctor Who.

Danish actor Claes Bang takes on the titular role, with Dolly Wells plays Sister Agatha, who is revealed to be Dracula’s sworn enemy, Van Helsing.

Dracula continues on Thursday and Friday night at 9pm on BBC One.

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