Release Day Review: Re: Dracula

Welcome back to Release Day Reviews, friends! I’m really excited to get back to these. I ended up starting with one I need to write a disclosure for,  because it’s been haunting my social media for months:

Re: Dracula is Executive Produced and Sound Designed by my Discord Co-Moderator (and podcast pal) Tal Minear.

With that, let’s get to the review…

I have done the Dublin Castle tour in the capital city of Ireland twice. I recommend it for anyone visiting the city, who has 45 minutes and wants to learn a little bit about the history without it being a thesis or an all-day commitment.

My favorite part of the tour is when you’re standing below the castle, surrounded by the comforting smell of cool stone, and staring up into the administrative halls of the building. When the tour guide manages the moment right it is absolutely magical. From this damp moment beneath a medieval castle, you find out Bram Stoker worked above you. In that moment you see where Dublin started and what it has grown to. A city that holds onto a history, while charging towards to a new future.

This Dublin Castle tour is the biggest connection to Dracula I have. It never really found its way into my reading cycles, and the time has passed that I’m not sure if I’ll ever find my way to the novel. This makes today’s Release Day Review even more exciting for me than I normally am for one of these.

The team over at Re: Dracula gave me the first twenty episodes to listen to which is a reviewer’s dream. I did not listen to all of them as I think I was losing part of what is going to make this podcast so interesting. You know when this podcast will start, and when it will end. You don’t particularly know when events will happen in between, making it an exciting guess. Turn on your notifications, I don’t think you’ll want to miss a part of this experience.

Inspired by the newsletter Dracula Daily, this podcast will be dropping into your podcast player as the story happens in real life. Starting with today’s brief episode, some will be shorter and some will be longer. This is an epistolatory podcast that takes us from May 3rd to November 7th, following the journals and letters of characters who are familiar to some already, but will be familiar to everyone who finishes this story.

Acting-wise we’re given solid performances that do not dip into the caricature as this story might be apt to lean. I think society likes making fun of Dracula lately, more than they like to fear him. The team has taken great care to bring you content warnings, as they are staying true to an original, outdated story. However, I should tell you all content-wise: You will fear Dracula as played by Karim Kronfli.

Through this subtle, yet powerful sound design, you will feel the chill of the Transylvanian castle Jonathan finds himself in. Our actor, Ben Galpin, does an excellent job of bringing us each breathless, shuddering moment of fear. You will remember that while vampires have been sexy in recent history, they have always been central to human fear. You can say Re: Dracula is putting the fear back in vampires. While there will be moments that remind you of the succubi allure of the monster you will not forget the prickle at the back of your neck.

Human fear is timeless and visceral. While you will be transported to a time when darkness probably felt more profound, Re: Dracula will highlight ever-present human fears that withstand the test of time. Dracula was well received when published in 1897, but the fact that we’re still working with it means something. So, stare into it, and don’t be afraid to experience this podcast as it rolls out.

Re: Dracula is a part of BloodyFM. Listen to it here

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