Just in time for Halloween, “The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula” has returned for its fifth season.
Like its previous season, the ooky-spooky drag competition show continues its run as an original series on Shudder, complete with an entirely new cast of 11 different drag artists.
Hosted by Queer nightlife icons, Dracmorda and Swanthula Boulet, Dragula aims to have queens battle in a pageant-style drag competition with a spooky twist. If you’re new here, think of Dragula as ‘Drag Race meets Fear Factor,’ but with drag queens and drag kings competing for the number one spot of the next ‘Drag Super Monster” and the chance to win a cash prize of $100,000, courtesy of the Boulet Brothers.
The episode began with the contestants receiving a challenge before they even reached the set. One by one, each of them was driven into a ‘Haunted Forest’ and dropped off by themselves, where they were informed by the Boulet Brothers that they needed to find their way to the base camp to compete in the actual competition, otherwise they’d be “exterminated,” Dragula’s special way of saying they’ll get eliminated from the show. Oh, and there were also tasers, yes, literal tasers, throughout their path.
Luckily, all the drag kings and queens made it to the base camp, but not all of them were unscathed, as one contestant, Jay Kay, busted their shin.
For the first episode, the contestants were tasked with creating looks for a “Terror in the Woods” themed floor show. Inspired by the likes of the Blair Witch Project, Cabin in the Woods, The Witch, the Sleepaway Camp, and Friday the 13th, the drag queens and kings worked to make original outfits that captured and capitalized on the essence of the things that go bump in the night while also showcasing their unique style of drag.
Everything seemed to be going smoothly for the drag artists as they geared up for the floor show, at least until sirens blared and they were told that they needed to prepare to head to the stage when none of them appeared to be ready. Luckily, the cast managed to pull everything together and complete their respective looks before they headed out. After each of them showed their unique interpretation of the terror in the woods theme, the judges started their deliberations.
“Before we begin,” Dracmorda said. “I wanna remind you that we are not here to judge your drag. Drag is art, and art is subjective. What we are judging you in is your drag as it relates to this competition and the challenges we’ve put before you.
“You are all incredible artists,” Swanthula continued. “But we are looking to transform one of you into our next drag super monster.
After the safe contestants were allowed to leave the floor show, the Boulet Brothers announced the top and bottom performers of the week. Orkgotik, Blackberri, and Niohuru X were deemed the top 3 competitors for this week’s theme, but Niohuru X was named the winner for the first challenge of the fifth season. On the other hand, Jay Kay and Satanna were deemed the bottom two and were told that they were up for extermination.
Remember how I said that Dragula was kind of a mix between ‘Drag Race’ and ‘Fear Factor?’ This is where the Fear Factor portion comes in.
For this week’s extermination, the two queens were told that they had to plunge 120 feet off the infamous and abandoned ‘Bridge to Nowhere’ at a speed of 100 miles an hour, after hiking 5 miles, by bungee jumping in full drag for a chance to stay in the competition. Both queens managed to conquer their fears and bungee jump off the bridge, but someone still had to be exterminated.
The episode continued in a black-and-white montage, with Jay Kay running through an abandoned building before she was eventually impaled by one of the Boulet’s, marking her extermination from the competition. And just so everyone’s clear, no drag queen was harmed or actually impaled in the making of that montage.
10 contestants remain. Who do you think will be the next drag super monster?
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