Interview: Dread Talks Horror, Filth and Glamour with DRAGULA: RESURRECTION’s The Boulet Brothers
Jerry Smith
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For three seasons now (Seasons 2 and 3 are available on Netflix), the filth, glamour, and horror of The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula has transported drag culture into the horror stratosphere in a big way. The competition show, heavy on horror and filth, is a great way to combine the love of drama and terror, giving viewers something truly unique. While production on a lot of films and shows ceased with 2020’s quarantine blues, the iconic drag duo decided to take things into their own hands and created a two-hour spinoff, Dragula: Resurrection (exclusively on Shudder), bringing back various “monsters” from past seasons, who for one reason or another, weren’t able to tap into their full potential prior.
Related Article: The Boulet Brothers’ CREATURES OF THE NIGHT Acquired by Dread Central Podcast Network!
Dragula: Resurrection is a visual treat. A blood and horror soaked ride, diving deep into its contestants’ stories, the imaginative film is an outside the box but horrifically entertaining time. Bringing everything fans of the show loved and amping it up in a very big way, Resurrection is sure to please the most die-hard Dragula fans. We were absolutely delighted to chat with Swanthula and Dracmora Boulet about their love for horror and the intersection of drag and terror. Read on!
Dread Central: Dragula: Resurrection is such a wild time, it’s so very entertaining. What led to this spinoff of sorts, from your Dragula TV show?
Swanthula Boulet: The idea of bringing back and celebrating some of our past contestants has always been there, even since the first season. Something we’ve always said is that we don’t cast anyone to go home. We don’t have “filler” contestants, we truly believe that anyone has what it takes to win. So even then, we thought, “Oh god, some of these artists didn’t get enough time.” We were always thinking of a what to bring some of them back to really show what they could do, because they’re amazing. With Resurrection, we finally were able to do that. Especially the first season, where some of the queens weren’t given enough screen time to show what they could do, especially someone like Frankie Doom, who was capable of so much more. So the idea has always been there.
DC: I was very impressed with how wonderful the special looks. It’s such a devilishly gorgeous special. You are both known for such iconic looks, but even from just a filmmaking perspective, Resurrection looks spectacular. Was it important to show the actual production aspect of it being just as important as the content itself, in a way?
Dracmorda Boulet: Absolutely. Especially because of the origins of the show. We didn’t do the traditional way of “Hey, let’s go pitch this to networks and they’ll give us a big budget.” We didn’t want to wait on Hollywood for two years, we just decided to just go do it, to prove that the show has potential and that we have talent. We thought that by doing that, something would happen, so that’s what we did and that’s what happened. So, every season we do feel the pressure to outdo ourselves with a look that’s out of this world.
DC: You had a very small crew to make such an ambitious, two-hour special with Resurrection. With Covid-19 making this year so suffocation to so many people, it adds a light to an otherwise dark time.
DB: I think that we’re uniquely trained to do something like this, because like I said earlier, when we started, we had NO budget at all. We, The Boulet Brothers went to bank and pulled the money out of our own account to make the show. It was so risky, right out of the gate. That’s all across the board because it takes so much money to make a show or a movie, so we were cutting corners left and right and really putting ourselves in jeopardy with it. All of that was just within the first season. Obviously, the following seasons were a little more legitimate, but I think slowly clawing our way to the top gave us that training to have what it takes to make something like this, during this crazy time. Getting in a huge production van with five other people, with the understanding that you have to deliver a two-hour movie, is scary to some people but to us, it’s par for the course (laughs).
DC: The intersection of drag and horror is such a great one, and that’s something that really speaks in both the show and the new special. The way you’re able to combine the two in a way that just screams adorations for both speaks volumes. Can you speak on being such iconic figures in the drag community while also being huge admirers of horror?
DB: It’s kind of natural, because it’s just what we like, you know? The whole concept of Dragula is the culmination of everything we love. We sat down together and said, “If we could make something that was everything we ever wanted? Whether anybody would watch it or come to it or whatever, let’s just throw that out the window and make something that is purely what we like.” That was Dragula, that was what we came up with. It’s everything, it’s the love of mainstream reality TV, with shocking horror and drag, but with this sort of punk energy. It just came from us.
DC: There’s a moment in the first episode of Season 3, that when I saw it, made me smile from ear to ear. It was the Halloween 4 homage with the ambulance. Speaking on the monsters in Resurrection, there must be a huge amount of pressure to perform that maybe felt too overwhelming during their appearances on their seasons, being able to return for another chance with this special. It shows how much more passion and fervor they each have this time around.
DB: Yes, but first I want to say something about Halloween 4, because you mentioned it and I want to talk about it. Halloween 4 holds such a special place for me personally, in my mythos of horror and everything. I’m so glad you picked up on that, but also, we had Danielle Harris as a judge on the Halloween episode of season three. We tried to throw Halloween 4 as much love as we possibly could in season three. When it came to deciding which monsters to bring back, it was more of “Who has more to tell and who has a really interesting story?” Those were the two things we were mostly looking for.
SB: And a love for Halloween. Since this was a Halloween-themed spin off, we wanted to amplify the voices that have a love for Halloween as much as we do. Fourthly, we wanted the contestants who would really embody the tenets of Dragula, we wanted the filth, contestants that would embody the horror. Of course, the glamour is always there.
DC: Dragula is one of, if not THE most inclusive shows around when it comes to featuring ALL types of drag performers. From featuring drag kings to transgender queens as well. It speaks volumes on how important it is to you both, to welcome all into the show.
DB: I think the show is a spotlight for everything that “normal” society turns their backs to. It’s always been important to us to have a show that is a home to outcasts and people that are misunderstood by society.
DC: Your Creatures of the Night podcast is such an eclectic one, it really shows how much you love the horror genre. Do you approach the podcast differently that you would with the show and are you able to somewhat let your guard down with the podcast, to dive into your love for horror?
SB: I think with Creatures of the Night, we approach it similarly in the sense that we’re very heavy-handed with how we curate it. We know what voice and tone we want the podcast to take, but we ARE able to let our guards down with it. We figured if someone really wanted to get to know us a little better, the podcast would be a way to kind of get a peek behind the proverbial curtain a little bit. It shows our distinct separate personalities. We joke a little more, so people can get a sense of who we are, a little more than the stoic, demonic queens you see on the show.
Be sure to check out Seasons 2 and 3 of Dragula on Netflix and Dragula: Resurrection on Shudder, available now!
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