The Boulet Brothers are drag artists, television personalities, writers, producers and modern day horror hosts.[1] They were featured on the cover of Fangoria as "Horror's New Icons" in 2022.[2] Their projects have included horror themed television shows, music, live nightlife productions, books, movies, and comic books.[3] Since 2016 the Boulet Brothers have produced and starred in the reality competition series The Boulet Brothers' Dragula, which features contestants showcasing dark, horror-themed drag looks.
Outside of their television projects, the Boulet Brothers appear regularly as featured guests, performers and emcees at horror conventions, nightclubs and live events. The Boulets are considered prolific nightclub producers with a career creating legendary nightlife events.[4][5][6] The Boulet Brothers are also widely celebrated in the LGBTQ+ community due to the inclusive nature of their creative endeavors.[7][8]
The Boulet Brothers are most known for their reality TV competition series The Boulet Brothers' Dragula. The show is currently streaming on Shudder,[9] and its sixth season is currently airing. [10] The show has received international praise for its creativity, talent and diversity.[11][12] It is the most watched series on Shudder.[13] The Boulet Brothers serve as the showrunners, executive producers and hosts of the show.
The Boulet Brothers' Dragula: Resurrection
The Boulet Brothers wrote, produced and co-directed a spin-off film titled Boulet Brothers' Dragula: Resurrection, which Digital Spy described as "part-horror movie, part-documentary and part-reality competition."[14] The film was released as an original film on AMC Networks' Shudder streaming service on October 20, 2020.[15]
In August 2022, it was announced that the Boulet Brothers would be producing and hosting a spinoff of Dragula and an upcoming television special for AMC.[16] The spinoff Boulet Brothers' Dragula: Titans premiered on October 25.[17] The series was praised for its production quality and the introduction of "fright feat" mini-challenges.[18]
The Boulet Brothers' Halfway to Halloween TV Special
The Boulet Brothers' Halfway to Halloween TV special is a scripted variety show that premiered on AMC+ and Shudder on April 25, 2023, written and directed by the Boulet Brothers.[19] The show was hosted by the Boulet Brothers in their horror host roles, and featured skits featuring notable celebrities from the horror genre including Kevin Smith, Matthew Lillard, David Dastmalchian, Rachel True, Barbara Crampton and Taran Killam.[20] The special was widely praised by critics, with Bloody Disgusting describing it as "a delightfully ghoulish good time",[21] and "an evening that exists in that special place on the border of comedy and tragedy, of camp and creepy, of horror and humor" by Hollywood Life.[22]
In 2023, it was announced that the Boulet Brothers were working on an upcoming television production with Blumhouse Productions.[27]
Podcasts
Creatures of the Night Podcast
Creatures of the Night promo poster
The Boulet Brothers are the executive producers and hosts of Dread Central's (previously Fangoria's) The Boulet Brothers' Creatures of the Night Podcast. The show is co-hosted by Ian Devoglaer, the supervising producer of The Boulet Brothers' Dragula. The podcast is a horror variety show styled after a 1940s style radio program. Each episode offers an introductory dialogue, a newscast and discussion of entertainment news, a horror movie review, and listener questions.[28] The show's "Haunting of History" segment revisits famous historical hauntings.[29] Other segments of the podcast include celebrity interviews and literary discussions called "Swanthula's Book Nook". Guests include Rose McGowan, Poppy, Dita Von Teese, Rachel True, Darren Stein, Yvie Oddly, Katya Zamolodchikova, and Lin Shaye. Books discussed include Stephen King's "Children of the Corn", Clive Barker's The Hellbound Heart, and Brian Lumley's Necroscope.[30]
Dragula Live Tour
The Boulet Brothers presented the Dragula Live Tour, a series of live performances featuring contestants from the Dragula series. The Boulet Brothers described the show as "a little bit of filth, and a lot of glamour and a little bit of shock. And maybe get covered in blood a little bit. It's gonna be a little messy."[31] The United Kingdom leg of the Dragula Season 4 World tour began at Clapham Grand in London in March, and performed in cities such as Glasgow, Manchester, Brighton, Leeds, Nottingham and Birmingham. The United States leg of the Dragula tour began on April 27, 2022,[32] and ended on June 2, 2022.[33]
The Season 4 World tour sold out, and received positive reviews from critics. Chris Selman of Gay Times praised the show, writing that "four diverse and engaging performers, a pair of enigmatic hosts, a rock band routine and an audience challenge to throw in some variety, and impressive production values." He concluded that "this twisted troupe present quite the macabre drag variety show."[34] Alex Warren of Horror Press had similar praise for the tour, writing that it had "otherworldly performances" and "sleek and sexy production values."[35]
They also presented the Boulet Brothers' Dragula: Titans Tour, which tours in the United States, Canada and Australia.[36] It began its tour on April 8, 2023.[37]
Still from the Boulet Brothers' Dragula
Comic books and print publication
The Boulet Brothers got their start in the comic book industry,[38] and they write and produce comic book content. They hosted a special "Halloween Takeover" issue of Heavy Metal (Issue #311) in 2021.[39] Longtime fans of Heavy Metal, they described hosting the issue as a "full circle moment" that tied together their love of comic books, horror and drag.[40] The issue, which was co-edited by Morgan Rosenblum and Steve Orlando, features subversive horror stories written by Orlando, Axelle Carolyn, and Alaska Thunderfuck 5000, among others.[38] "The Vault of Saumagotha – Part Two", one of the stories included in the issue, was co-written by and about the Boulet Brothers.[41] The Boulet Brothers had first announced their intention to work on a comic book with Orlando on the Creatures of the Night podcast in 2020.[42]
The issue was well received for its writing, themes and art.[38] Jeff Robertson of Screen Rant said that the book "unleash[es] their unique blend of seductive and irreverent terror on the unsuspecting public."[43]
The Boulets remind us of the connection between many of cinema's early monster movies and the suppression of any overt LGBTQ+ representation on screen. — Steve Holden, BBC[44]
Public image
The Boulet Brothers are noted figures in the queer and horror communities,[45][46] and have been considered "pivotal pioneers for alternative drag."[47] They were featured on the cover of horror magazine Fangoria Vol. 2, Issue #13.[2] Their distinctive style often incorporates colored contact lenses and matching outfits.[48] Many of their looks are inspired by classic horror films, femme fatales, punk fashion, and villains from film, comic books and television series.[49]Rue Morgue's Carly Maga described them as "the unofficial lords of the underworld of drag performance, instantly recognizable by their matching gothic, otherworldly looks; the high-glam drag lovechildren of Anna Wintour, a Cenobite, and the Grady twins."[50]
Music
The Boulet Brothers' released their debut EP titled Time to Die in October 2021. The EP consists of four original songs including "Wicked Love" which was created for The Boulet Brothers' Dragula season 4 Episode 5 challenge. The Boulet Brothers' also released an instrumental Official Boulet Brothers' Dragula Season 4 Soundtrack in December 2021. The soundtrack features the floorshow music and main thematic tracks used in the fourth season of the show.[51]
The Boulet Brothers EP Halloween House Party was released through Producer Entertainment Group on October 4, 2024. The EP has six tracks, including the single "All Hallows' Eve". It has been described as a combination of surf rock, 1960s pop, psychobilly, and electronica.[52] The Boulet Brothers' described it as an homage to "classic vintage Halloween decorations, sets, costumes, parties, music".[53]
Awards and honours
In 2022, the Boulet Brothers were included on the Out100, a list of the most impactful LGBT people.[54] They were also ranked among Out100's "Drag Artists of the Year".[55] The Boulet Brothers won the award for "Best Makeup" at the Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Awards 2022.[56]
Swan is originally from Connecticut and Drac is originally from The South.[62] They met around 1994 in New York City due to mutual friends.[63] The couple do not appear out of drag on television or in interviews and lead private personal lives. They have stated in interviews that they are not brothers but romantic partners.[64]
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