The Rules of the Beast

If anybody who lived under a rock and never heard of the story of count Dracule before and watched this episode, it would be a good introduction. to me it was a new way to look at an old and beloved story

A superb start to this three part dramatisation. I was a kid that grew up on Christopher Lee films, I've disliked many attempts to bring Transylvania's finest back over the years, but this had me gripped. It was a very sinister and scary opening episode, which was wonderfully gothic and creepy.

Great acting, Claes Bang though, awesome. It looked impressive, very smart production values, but it was the tone that impressed me most. It just works. 9/10

The first part of this BBC mini-series is an imaginative twist on the classic Bram Stoker tale. Messrs Moffat and Gatiss demonstrate their love for the source material whilst adding their own playful spin on the proceedings.

The cast are excellent. Claes Bang is mesmerising as the ancient Count Dracula whilst Dolly Wells is brilliant as Sister Agatha. Best of all, in this first episode, is John Heffernan as the innocent Jonathan Harker. Heffernan has the task of playing Harker as the fresh faced individual who first steps into Dracula's castle and the shattered shell of a man who has faced the devil himself.

9 out of 10. Funny, shocking, gripping and thrilling...this is a memorable adaptation.

In 1897, the English lawyer Jonathan Harker is interviewed by Sister Agatha under the supervision of another nun in a convent in Bulgaria. He tells his journey to Transylvania to meet his client Count Dracula and how Dracula rejuvenates while he decays. He also recalls how the fled from his castle. Soon the convent is attacked by the evil Dracula and the forces of evil.

"The Rules of the Beast" is an episode base on the novel by Bram Stoker with a great beginning. However the humor does not work and the episode is too long from the moment Dracula arrives at the convent. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "The Rules of the Beast"

This May be Dracula, but there are certainly different Rules to this Beast. Despite taking many a liberty with the original story I think what's been done here is actually quite entertaining in its own right. It's certainly campy but the cast know when to ham it up and when to keep it calculated without fully breaking the immersion. Claes Bang is absolute genius casting, even if you don't enjoy this reimagining his incarnation of the character has charm, wit and a ghastly sense of humour. I think for the open minded and uneducated this will be quite the spectacle but I can tell now that readers of the Bram Stoker classic will most certainly have a few words on the direction this episode and especially those that follow takes. I'm going to give 'Rules of the Beast' an 8.4/10