The crew aboard the Russian ship, The Demeter, are locked in a life-or-death struggle to stop Count Dracula before he reaches England.

Playing like an Agatha Christie country house whodunnit, Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat take their adaptation of Bram Stoker’s novel in some very new directions as passengers and crew set out on a voyage of the damned. The section in the book ends with the Demeter arriving at Whitby with its captain lashed to the wheel and a giant wolf leaping to shore. Not so here, and any belief you might have that you’re one step ahead of the game is sadly misguided.

As I suggested with yesterday’s review, this show is as tricksy as Sherlock, throwing puzzles and conundrums at us, while distracting us from what’s actually going on. Claes Bang comes into his own here as the Count, never being slow at revealing who he is and what he’s got planned for his next victim. While there’s none of the extreme gore or OTT humour of part one (or maybe I’m just acclimatising to it?) the adult quotient is still high, with throats being torn out and fingernails torn off.

It’s great fun watching the sparring between Sister Agnes (Dolly Wells) and Dracula as they play chess and try to take control of the board. Supporting cast includes Sherlock’s Jonathan Aris as the ship’s captain, Catherine Schell (Space:1999/Doctor Who) as a countess and Sacha Dhawan (what a week he’s having!) as a doctor protecting his daughter. And just who exactly is in Cabin 9?

Verdict: For the second time in as many days, British genre had proven that it can still pull off major surprises, even in the world of spoilerific social media. What a joy it is to be genuinely thrilled, chilled and surprised, and while it’s a long way from Stoker now, this Dracula is its own undead beast. 9/10

Nick Joy