Dracula 2000

So good they name it twice — Dracula 2000, then a few months later in 2001, Dracula 2001 — this phenomenal (pheromonal?) Butler bloodfest positions Dracula as Judas Escariot, the disciple who betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Woken from  his enforced slumbers, the undead hottie hits New Orleans, tracking down Mary Van Helsing (Justine Waddell) and her friend Lucy (Colleen Fitzpatrick, otherwise known as Vitamin C).

Joining me to talk about the film, and much else besides, is critic, screenwriter and pre-code expert Sarah Cook, who really knows her stuff: as well as Dracula(s) we look into the joys of two-star fantasy movies and we go DEEP into the genius of 1931 horror Jekyll and Hyde, and how they achieved those special effects 90 years ago. Plus — of course — Gerard Butler's tight pants.

My research for this episode involved two genre classics that I'm ashamed to say I had never dived into before: FW Murnau's terrifying black and white 1922 film Nosferatu, and Vitamin C's no1 hit Smile.

My usual warning: this episode is very spoilery (with a synopsis at the start if you need to recap)