‘The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula: Titans’ Recap – ‘Halloween House Party’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains minor spoilers for the series premiere of ‘The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula: Titans’.
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It is definitely safe to say that television shows that are grounded in competition and elimination, are downright brutal in nature, especially when it comes to folks that are eliminated along the way. Because for the most part, they are forgotten and discarded by the show, regardless of how close they came to a win or how talented they might have been. For so many of these shows are grounded in the ‘winner take all’ mentality that modern society revolves around. But thankfully, there are some competitive shows out there that are looking to change that and showcase the value of the contestants that were ultra-talented and suffered through a bad break, and one such series that is leading the way in such matters is the brand-new Shudder series, The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula: Titans.
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For Dragula is a show that always features incredibly talented drag artists. The kind that are so good at what they do that sometimes, their being sent home comes down to something simple or just not being up to snuff in the moment. Which is why Drac, and Swan have brought back former competitors in the past, to give them a fresh shot at winning the all-important title of Dragula and well… for their first spin-off series for Shudder, they opted to bring back who they deemed to be some of the finest to never win the competition. Which is just epic and unheard of and well, that made the series premiere of this show, quite the engaging and wild ride. Mainly because it was just a delight to see so many familiar faces compete once again and showcase their talents once more and catch up with them, and well… it was comforting to know that the Boulet Brothers genuinely want to give these monsters another shot at glory.

But of course, that wasn’t the only amazing aspect of this series premiere. For ‘Halloween Horror Show’ let it be known that there would be some new wrinkles to the fold of this storied franchise. For instance, the extermination challenges are gone in Titans. Replaced instead by a group fear challenge, wherein everyone must participate or the hesitant party risks moving forward and/or might be replaced by a competitor that was let go and well… if the first challenge is any indicator of what the monsters and the audience can expect from these challenges… these are going to be brutal. Not to mention, it was up to the monsters this go round to decide who was going home, instead of the Boulet Brothers and that was supremely new and enticing and exciting for the audience. Because that is going to add some drama and depth to this competition, the kind that will undoubtedly force the monsters to up their game as artists and of course… do their best to keep votes on their side. 

However, while such surprises might leave some concerned that this show is going to abandon everything that we love about this saga to begin with, have no fear. For the core elements of the show remain intact. For there are still lessons and homages to horror abound. Since the opening sequence was Tales from the Crypt meets Bride of Frankenstein, and the Halloween House Party had that classic vintage horror vibe and of course, the costumes were… mostly amazing. Since they featured fresh takes on classic Halloween monsters, complete with epic Pumpkinheads (courtesy of Yovska and Victoria Black) and a devious Devil (courtesy of Evah Destruction). But there were some not so good looks. The kind that sent someone home for certain. As to who, we won’t discuss, nor will we discuss the winner.

Simply because you need to experience the wonder of this episode firsthand and all the tea that comes with it. Which by the way, is still a staple of the franchise here as well… and is still served piping hot. Instead, we’re just here to talk about how great it is that one, the Boulet Brothers are back on the air. Two, how wonderful it is to enjoy a competition show filled to the brim with second chances for hungry monsters that want that title of Dragula. And three we need to praise Drac and Swan… for making sure we’re not getting the same old thing. Because they could have just churned out a by the numbers clone of Dragula. But here… we get something that stands on its own by being fresh and new and exciting and epic. Where the stakes are even higher for those getting a shot at the second chance and it will be fascinating to see what other surprises await us (and what other awesome judges will drop by, since Cassandra Peterson was amazing here) as the inaugural season of Titans rolls along. Until next time.

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