Dracula Review – Luc Besson’s Passionate Reimagining of the Timeless Gothic Tale is Ridiculous but Engaging
It’s possible interest is limited for a fresh take of Dracula from Luc Besson, the celebrated French director for glossiness and bloat. And yet, it’s worth noting: his richly designed vampire romance boasts bold vision and flair – and in all its Hammer-y cheesiness, I’m not sure I wouldn’t prefer over Robert Eggers’s recent, solemnly classy version of Nosferatu. A few strange elements appear, including one shot that appears to show a geographic divide between France and Romania.
Waltz as a Witty Yet Careworn Priest Tracking the Undead
Christoph Waltz plays a witty yet careworn vampire-hunting priest – it’s surprising he never took on this role before – who ends up in Paris in 1889 during the centennial of the French Revolution. So does the evil Count Dracula, brought to life by the body-horror veteran Caleb Landry Jones speaking in a twisted regional dialect evoking Steve Carell’s Gru of the Despicable Me series. This is a part he seemed destined to play.
The Plot: A Tale of Love and Loss
The plot unfolds as follows: the count has been restlessly roaming the earth in anguish for 400 years since he became undead, a punishment for his faithless sorrow following the loss of his wife, Elisabeta (a first film part for Zoë Bleu, the offspring of Rosanna Arquette). Dracula has looked tirelessly for some woman who could be the return of his lost love. As ill fortune would have it, the lucky lady turns out to be Mina (portrayed once more by Bleu), the demure fiancee of Dracula’s feeble property handler, Jonathan Harker (Ewens Abid), who has recently been to the vampire’s estate to review his real estate holdings and whose miniature portrait of the charming Mina caught the count’s hooded eye.
Besson’s Handling and Comic Flair
Besson structures Dracula’s second-act backstory of international journeys sporting extravagant attire with a sure hand, and he is not above providing funny bits in the style of Mel Brooks – for example the count’s repeated and futile attempts to end his own life following Elisabeta’s passing, in addition to farcical scenes that result after Dracula douses himself with a specific fragrance in historic Florence, that renders him unavoidably attractive to females. Outlandish but entertaining.
Dracula is on digital platforms beginning on the first of December and in disc format from December 22nd. It will be shown in Australian cinemas beginning on the fifth of February, 2026.
