The Unquenchable Thirst of Dracula

The Unquenchable Thirst of Dracula is a 2018 Indian-British horror film written and directed by Mark Gatiss and starring Michael Sheen in the title role. The film also features Jessica Raine, Dev Patel, Sunetra Sarker, Sanjeev Baskar, Meera Syal and Harish Patel, along with the feature film debut of model Neelam Gill and a brief appearance by Claire Foy. The film is an adaptation of a Hammer Films production that went unmade. The script was previously adapted, also by Gatiss, for BBC Radio 4 the year previously.

Plot
It's 1932 and Penny (Jessica Raine), a young British woman, travels secretly and alone by train through the heart of India, in search of her sister who has recently disappeared. In her first class carriage she meets Prem (Dev Patel) and Lakshmi (Neelam Gill), a brother and sister performing duo who have been hired for one night by a Maharajah. Babu (Harish Patel), who also shares the carriage, is horrified to learn that Penny is unaccompanied and insists that she stays with him and his wife (Sunetra Sarker) near the caves she is visiting. Prem and Lakshmi are taken by chauffeur to the sinister residence of the Maharajah and his wife the Rani (Meera Syal) and asked to perform that night. The performance is not for the Maharajah though but his new guest, Count Dracula (Michael Sheen). While Lakshmi, soon separated from her brother, finds herself in great danger as she begins to dance for Dracula, Penny makes her way into the hidden cavern beneath the Maharajah's Palace where she is shocked to discover Prem, desperately searching for his sister. As they descend a hidden stone staircase inhabited by poisonous snakes, they soon find themselves looking out on a huge underground chamber full of hundreds of the Rani's acolytes, all waiting for her next human sacrifice to satisfy their blood cult. Will it be Lakshmi? And has Penny's sister already met a similar fate? It's a race against time to get answers before all of them fall under the spell of the hypnotic Count.

Sequel
Shortly after the release of the movie, Hammer Films announced The Powerful Daughters of Dracula, a sequel. Mark Gatiss was confirmed as returning to write and direct, while Jessica Raine, Claire Foy and Neelam Gill will reprise their roles for the sequel. Michael Sheen is also expected to appear in the some capacity.