It’s kooky, it’s ooky, and it is most certainly spooky season. Halloween is upon us! The Sanderson Sisters are back terrorizing Salem. Michael is trying to finally end Jamie Lee Curtis’ life once and for all. The hits are hitting.
Huluween, Hulu’s yearly Halloween block of original programming, is back with a vengeance as well. Ready to scare the pants off ya, the streamer has original films (the new reboot of Hellraiser), holiday specials (Solar Opposites is getting into the Halloween spirit this year), and lucky for all of us, a drag queen variety special to kick off the Huluween season.
The Huluween Dragstravaganza is part preview show, part musical variety special, and a full campy fantasia on national themes. Hosted by Monét X Change and Ginger Minj, and starring other famous drag kings and queens, we receive buckets of musical numbers, silly sketches, and in-on-the-joke product placement during the 44-minute runtime.
The special is unadulterated Halloween camp and it’s a delight. The mummy musical number featuring legends Lady Bunny and Jackie Beat is dad-joke central with a jaded queen twist, while “The Next American Slasher” features a sickening verse from Mo Heart that is all about cannibalism. Perfection.
The special is a quick in-and-out. It does its job well, lets the queens shine, and shows that Ginger and Monet are a dynamic hosting duo. For the variety genre being all but dead in mainstream culture, this special was a perfect appetizer for what the possibilities are for the format in 2022.
I fell in love with its fun music and its knowingly hokey comedy, making me hope we receive more of these specials from Hulu in the future. A Monet and Ginger Hulu Holiday? Valentine’s Day? Arbor Day? We need this!
All-in-all, a delightful addition to anyone’s Halloween viewing line-up this season. The amuse bouche of Halloween specials to kickstart your monster movie marathons. Drag may not be fully mainstream, but this special allows the art form and these fabulous performers the platform they deserve. (Warning: Try to get the opening number out of your head by Easter. It ain’t happenin’.)