Five of the best modern horror series ranked (including Swarm)

5. Dragula: Titans

Dragula: Titans made its horror series debut on Shudder in October of last year, joining the current roster of four seasons of the original Dragula series and Dragula: Resurrection. Resurrection more or less stands alone, since it was a two-hour special, rather than a series.

When The Boulet Brothers first announced Dragula: Titans, I (and many other Dragula fans) were a bit skeptical. What could a spinoff series show us that was different from its source material?

Happily, I discovered that I was wrong to doubt the Boulets’ ability to bring us a much more intense horror series that still kept the entertainment aspect firmly in place. So, how was Titans different from a regular season of Dragula?

First, all of the competitors had already appeared on a season of Dragula (two had also appeared on Resurrection). They had all been favorites, either of fans or of the Boulets themselves, so the competition was stiffer than it would have been otherwise.

Instead of an elimination challenge, where the bottom two contestants were pitted against one another, each episode began with a “Fright Feat Challenge.” ALL of the competitors were made to participate in this challenge, and anyone who chose not to participate would be eliminated. In episode one, we started things off with a bloody bang as the queens were forced to bob for apples in a bucket full of disgusting blood, internal organs and even a pig’s head.

At the end of each floor show challenge, the bottom two contestants were made to ascend the stairway of souls, and a trap door was violently pulled beneath the performer who was being eliminated. It was easy to see the very real look of terror on each of their faces as they stood at the top of the steep staircase.

With twists and turns thrown at the competitors throughout the competition (they often referred to Titans as “Gagula”), this was one entertainingly scary horror series.