Award-winning retelling of Bram Stoker’s classic Dracula: The Night Around Us Celebrating its UK Premiere at Tubi FrightFest on 30th August
Winner of the Goule D’Or at Portland Horror Film Festival
Monday 3rd August 2026, London, UK: Writer and director Chris Schwab (Heretic, Neither Day Nor Night) is delighted to share the new trailer for upcoming horror Dracula: The Night Around Us.This modern retelling of the definitive vampire horror will celebrate its UK Premiere at Tubi FrightFest, screening as part of the Discovery Screen One strand on 30th August.
Inspired by Bram Stoker’s masterpiece, Dracula: The Night Around Us is written and directed by Chris Schwab, who puts his own spin on the classic Dracula story. The film stars Eric Toms, Marlene Mc’Cohen (It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia), Spencer Weitzel, Raelan Mackiewicz and Brent Jones.
Dr. John Seward, a depressed doctor at an asylum for the criminally insane, finds a rare glimmer of hope when he connects with his new neighbour, Mina, and her young daughter, Lucy. But beneath the city streets, an ancient evil stirs in the sewers. Dracula is building a harem of undead brides, and he soon sets his sights on Lucy.
Dracula: The Night Around Us received its World Premiere at the Portland Horror Film Festival earlier this year, where it took home the Goule D’Or Award for Best Feature Film.
Commenting on the film’s selection at Tubi FrightFest, Writer and Director Chris Schwab said: “Dracula is a timeless story, and we’re thrilled to have been able to put a unique spin on one of cinema’s most iconic horrors. We can’t wait for London audiences to see what we’ve created.”
Dracula: The Night Around Us will have its UK Premiere at Tubi FrightFest on 30th August
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www.frightfest.co.uk
Director’s Statement – Chris Schwab
“Why Dracula? That was usually the first question I was asked when proposing this project to my usual collaborators. Many didn’t share my obsession with the book and subsequent films and various adaptations. They wondered how we were going to do a period piece on such a low budget. Who was going to play Dracula? Hasn’t this been done before? Why do this at all?
I’ve loved Dracula ever since I was a kid watching Monster Squad on repeat. It wasn’t until I saw Francis Ford Coppola’s Dracula on HBO in the early nineties that I became aware of the original story and novel by Bram Stoker. It would be many more years until I finally read the novel and loved it. I got chills reading about the vampire brides first approaching Jonathan Harker in Dracula’s castle and vampire Lucy being confronted by Van Helsing, Dr. Seward, Quincey Morris and Arthur Holmwood. Ever since then I’ve been fascinated with how the novel has been adapted. There is no real definitive adaptation. Every one has its own unique take on the story. I dreamed about how I would approach it.
The first bit of inspiration I took was from the 1931 Universal Pictures Dracula starring Bela Lugosi, in which it is the character of Renfield who travels to Transylvania to meet the Count, not Jonathan Harker. In the wonderful 1977 BBC Count Dracula, the filmmakers combine the characters of Quincey and Arthur into one, creating Quincey Holmwood. This gave me loads of ideas for how to treat the story. I would focus my film on Dr. Seward and combine him with other characters such as Jonathan and Van Helsing. In addition, I decided to break up the story and jumble the set pieces to try to present the material in a new and fresh way.
The setting was also exciting to figure out. Instead of Dracula’s castle as crumbling stone rising into the night sky, I would use the towering steel and concrete bridges holding up the freeways in Los Angeles. Instead of the crypt where Dracula’s coffin lies undisturbed, it would be the sewers and tunnels underneath my feet.
In the end making this film became an unforgettable and challenging experience for us all — from figuring out how to breathe new life into these characters to nearly getting arrested for trespassing. We sincerely hope you enjoy watching it as much as we had making it.”
— Chris Schwab
