‘The Boulet Brothers’ Holiday of Horrors’ Exclusive Interview [Dread Central Digital Feature]
With The Boulet Brothers’ Holiday of Horrors, Dracmorda and Swantha Boulet are reclaiming the festive season for the macabre. Their all-new four-part horror anthology, now on Shudder, has brought together original narrative chapters of festive terror written and directed by The Boulet Brothers alongside genre icons like David Dastmalchian, Akela Cooper, and Kate Siegel—each offering a distinct, dread-soaked take on holiday tradition. What a gift.
Rather than simply subverting seasonal cheer, the series leans into the idea that the holidays have always been fertile ground for unease, ritual, and haunting imagery. In this interview, The Boulet Brothers break down the creative DNA of Holiday of Horrors, from assembling its singular lineup of collaborators to crafting their own contribution, and why this project represents the most personal expression yet of their scripted horror ambitions.
For Dracmorda and Swanthula Boulet, collaboration isn’t a switch that gets flipped on for a project—it’s constant. See what they have to say in our conversation below.
“We’re kind of in a constant creative conversation,” Dracmorda says. “The two of us develop these things all day, every day. We keep a written log of everything. When we get opportunities that fit, we’re like, ‘Oh my God, remember that story we talked about?’ and we channel that into the project.”
That process led directly to Godette, their chapter in a new holiday horror anthology. Written and directed by the Boulet Brothers, the segment reflects a side of their creative interests they’ve been developing quietly for years—one rooted in straightforward horror rather than camp.
“We spend a lot of time talking about and developing straight horror,” Dracmorda explains. “Some people expect that if we do something horror, it’ll be very campy or very Addams Family or Gremlins. That’s not really what we were setting out to do.”
The anthology as a whole brings together a wide range of voices, many of them longtime friends of the Boulets, chosen less for familiarity than for creative alignment. One collaborator who left a strong impression was Kate, whose work as a director stood out immediately.
“A lot of people know Kate from Netflix shows as the lead,” Dracmorda says, “but she’s really a creative force as far as writing and directing. She has such a unique voice. Swan and I both were like, ‘We really want Kate to be a part of this.’”
Swanthula recalls how clear that voice was once production began. “She knows exactly what she wants,” she says. “And she’s not afraid to ask for it either. She came in fully prepared. It was easy. A pleasure to work with her.”
Dracmorda was particularly struck by what Kate brought tonally. “It kind of hearkens back to those stop-animation Christmas movies we all grew up with,” she says. “But she brought a demented dark humor that I personally really like. I think she did it spectacularly.”
The emotional core of the anthology—and Godette specifically—comes from the Boulets’ shared understanding of the holidays as a time of heightened contrast rather than universal joy.
“It’s such a time of family and celebration and your loved ones,” Dracmorda says. “But if you turn the diamond a little bit and look at it from a different angle—if you don’t have those things—it’s extremely painful in contrast.”
She describes imagining someone alone during the season: “Someone who’s broke or going through something, sitting there and seeing all this merriment around you that you’re not a part of and you cannot partake in even if you want to. Combine that with long winter nights and the cold and despair—it makes the perfect setting for horror.”
Swanthula sees the season as one that demands emotional performance. “You’re almost forced to be like, ‘Oh, it’s such a beautiful time of year,’” she says. “But for a lot of people, that magic is gone. You’re left with this hunger to recapture it. And in its place are things like seasonal depression and dealing with family you hate. It’s like you take something sweet and jam something sour right in its place.”
When asked which segment in the anthology is the scariest, the Boulets don’t hesitate.
“I would have to say ours,” Dracmorda says. “That’s what we were going for.”
Swanthula agrees, noting that the anthology intentionally spans a range of tones. “All the shorts collectively check a lot of boxes,” she says. “Straight supernatural horror like ours, mood pieces, animation—it runs the whole gamut.”
A major highlight of Godette is the Boulets’ collaboration with Bonnie Aarons, an experience both describe as fearless and deeply fun.
“She’s awesome,” Swanthula says. “She’s so unapologetically herself. She was like, ‘Please make me ugly. I’ll do whatever you want.’ She brought unexpected physicality and gestures that ended up making the cut.”
Dracmorda admits she initially worried about asking Aarons to play a grandmother. “I was like, ‘Would she be offended that it’s an older character?’” she recalls. “And she literally texted me, ‘I’ll be your fucking grandma. I don’t care.’ And I was like, okay—she gets it.”
Outside of their own work, the Boulets’ love of holiday horror is well established. Black Christmas remains a touchstone.
“It’s not only one of my favorite holiday movies,” Dracmorda says, “but one of my favorite horror movies in general. It nails fear. It’s not about gore—it’s about controlling the audience and exposing them to the right things at the right time.”
As for Godette, both Boulets see it as something far from finished.
“One hundred percent,” Dracmorda says when asked if it could expand into a feature. “There are bigger stories in there.”
Feature-length work from the Boulet Brothers is already on the horizon. “The offer has been made by several places,” Dracmorda confirms. “In the past, we didn’t have time. But we’ve been very careful in our planning to allow the opportunity this year. So fingers crossed.”
You can stream The Boulet Brothers’ Holiday of Horrors now on Shudder.
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