Dracula Review – Luc Besson’s Passionate Revamp of the Gothic Classic is Outlandish but Watchable
It’s possible audiences aren’t clamoring for a fresh take of Dracula from Luc Besson, the filmmaker known for stylish excess. And yet, it’s worth noting: his richly designed love story with vampires boasts bold vision and flair – and in all its Hammer-y cheesiness, I’m not sure I wouldn’t prefer to it to Robert Eggers’s recent, solemnly classy version of Nosferatu. A few strange elements appear, including one shot that appears to show a territorial boundary between France and Romania.
Christoph Waltz as a Humorously Exhausted Clergyman Hunting Vampires
Christoph Waltz embodies a witty yet careworn cleric fighting vampires – it’s surprising he never took on this character previously – who arrives in Paris in 1889 for the French Revolution centenary celebrations. So does the malevolent vampire count, enacted by the seasoned horror actor Caleb Landry Jones with a mangled central European accent evoking the voice of Gru by Steve Carell of the Despicable Me series. This character suits him perfectly.
The Story: A Saga of Heartbreak
The story is this: Dracula has been restlessly roaming the earth in sorrow for hundreds of years following his rise as one of the undead, a punishment due to his blasphemous mourning following the loss of his spouse Elisabeta (a first film part for Zoë Bleu, the offspring of Rosanna Arquette). Dracula has looked tirelessly for a female who might be the reincarnation of his departed beloved. Unfortunately, the chosen woman is revealed as Mina (also Bleu, of course), the modest betrothed of Dracula’s wimpish land agent, Jonathan Harker (played by Ewens Abid), who lately visited to the vampire’s estate to discuss his property portfolio and whose miniature portrait of the charming Mina caught the count’s hooded eye.
Besson’s Direction and Humorous Style
Besson organizes Dracula’s second-act backstory of worldwide travels wearing flamboyant outfits with a sure hand, and he is not above giving us some comedy moments reminiscent of Mel Brooks – for example Dracula’s ongoing failed efforts to kill himself after Elisabeta’s death, along with absurd moments that result after Dracula sprays himself with a specific fragrance during the 1700s in Florence, which causes him to be compelling to the opposite sex. Absurd yet engaging.
Dracula is available digitally from 1 December and for physical purchase from December 22nd. It plays in Australian cinemas beginning on the fifth of February, 2026.
