Dracula Review – The French Director’s Love-Struck Reinterpretation of the Timeless Gothic Tale is Ridiculous but Entertaining
It’s possible there is no great enthusiasm for a new version of Dracula from Luc Besson, the filmmaker known for polished extravagance. And yet, one must admit: his richly designed love story with vampires displays creativity and style – and in all its Hammer-y cheesiness, I might just favor to it to Eggers’s dignified recent take of Nosferatu. Odd details emerge, such as a scene that appears to show a land border between France and Romania.
The Veteran Actor as a Humorously Exhausted Clergyman Hunting Vampires
Christoph Waltz embodies a humorous yet burdened vampire-hunting priest – it’s surprising he never took on this role before – who arrives in Paris in 1889 during the centennial of the French Revolution. Likewise present is the malevolent vampire count, brought to life by the body-horror veteran Caleb Landry Jones using a distorted Eastern European tone similar to Carell’s Gru character of the Despicable Me series. This character that he too was born to take on.
The Plot: A Tale of Love and Loss
The plot unfolds as follows: the count has wandered endlessly the globe in sorrow for hundreds of years following his rise as one of the undead, a penalty due to his blasphemous mourning over the death of his spouse Elisabeta (a movie debut role for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). The count has looked tirelessly for a lady who could be the return of his lost love. Unfortunately, the chosen woman proves to be Mina (also Bleu, of course), the demure fiancee of Dracula’s wimpish land agent, Jonathan Harker (played by Ewens Abid), who lately visited to Dracula’s fortress to discuss his real estate holdings and the tiny painting of the lovely Mina drew the vampire’s attention.
The Filmmaker’s Approach and Comic Flair
Besson structures Dracula’s middle-section history of global roaming sporting extravagant attire skillfully, and he doesn’t shy away from offering humorous scenes in the style of Mel Brooks – such as Dracula’s ongoing failed efforts to kill himself following Elisabeta’s passing, in addition to farcical scenes that follow Dracula sprays himself using a particular scent during the 1700s in Florence, which causes him to be unavoidably attractive to females. Absurd yet engaging.
Dracula can be streamed online starting December 1st and on DVD and Blu-ray from 22 December. It will be shown in Australian cinemas from 5 February 2026.
