Dracula (2020)

It’s a bloodstained love letter to a classic, beautifully and delicately scented with just the faintest hint of ham gothic yarns need; a homage to all the great Counts who have gone before, but still entirely its own thing. And again, like the best of Gatiss and Moffat’s Sherlocks, with the searching intelligence that promises to flesh out the foundational story. Enjoy sinking your teeth into it all.

Parts of the premiere's first half are a bit slow and some of the script’s attempts at humor and modern dialogue feel off in terms of tone, but the action really kicks in for the final half-hour in a way that makes it almost impossible for you not to watch another.

At its best, this new version by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss is a loving tribute to the Hammer Horror kind of Dracula, which keeps the novel’s more macabre attractions, adds fresh wit and energy, and only occasionally drags.

“Dracula,” the latest in a long, long line of genetic mutations fathered by the 1897 Bram Stoker novel, is quick with a quip. And no small amount of irreverence. ... While there is humor in this “Dracula,” there is also real dread. ... Mr. Bang, who plays Drac rather louche, can also bring a visceral ferocity to the scenes in which his character is challenged or—heaven knows—thwarted.

It's a shame that the season finale is awful, because the first episode of Dracula is fanf---ingtastic.

To call his retelling tedious is understating the problem. ... Laggardly scripting also obscures performances that might otherwise win over the audience. ... [Dolly] Wells’ Agatha is the first episode's saving grace. She gets some of the funniest lines and delivers them with a dry, peppery mien that gives one hope that she’ll survive.