Dracula Review – Besson’s Romantic Reimagining of the Timeless Gothic Tale is Outlandish but Entertaining
Maybe there is no great enthusiasm for an updated adaptation of Dracula from Luc Besson, the filmmaker known for stylish excess. And yet, it has to be said: his opulently crafted love story with vampires has ambition and panache – and in all its Hammer-y cheesiness, it could be preferable to it to Robert Eggers’s recent, solemnly classy version of Nosferatu. A few strange elements appear, like a particular moment that seems to depict a geographic divide between France and Romania.
Waltz as a Clever but Weary Priest Tracking the Undead
Christoph Waltz embodies a humorous yet burdened vampire-hunting priest – I can’t believe he hasn’t played this character previously – who arrives in Paris in 1889 during the centennial of the French Revolution. Likewise present is the malevolent vampire count, played by the seasoned horror actor Caleb Landry Jones with a mangled central European accent evoking the voice of Gru by Steve Carell from the Despicable Me comedies. It’s a role he seemed destined to play.
The Story: A Saga of Heartbreak
The story is this: Dracula has been restlessly roaming the earth in sorrow for 400 years after his transformation into a vampire, a punishment for his faithless sorrow following the loss of his spouse Elisabeta (an inaugural screen appearance for Zoë Bleu, the offspring of Rosanna Arquette). Dracula has looked tirelessly for some woman who would be the rebirth of his departed beloved. By cruel fate, the fortunate female is revealed as Mina (portrayed once more by Bleu), the demure fiancee of Dracula’s wimpish land agent, Jonathan Harker (played by Ewens Abid), who lately visited to Dracula’s fortress to negotiate his real estate holdings and the small picture of the lovely Mina caught the count’s hooded eye.
Besson’s Direction and Lighthearted Touch
Besson arranges Dracula’s second-act backstory of international journeys in various outrageous costumes skillfully, and he doesn’t shy away from giving us funny bits reminiscent of Mel Brooks – like the count’s repeated and futile attempts to commit suicide after Elisabeta’s death, in addition to farcical scenes that occur when Dracula sprays himself with a specific fragrance in historic Florence, which causes him to be irresistible to women. Absurd yet engaging.
Dracula can be streamed online beginning on the first of December and on DVD and Blu-ray from 22 December. It screens in Australian cinemas starting February 5, 2026.
