Dracula Review – Besson’s Romantic Reimagining of the Gothic Classic is Ridiculous but Entertaining
Perhaps audiences aren’t clamoring for a fresh take of Dracula from Luc Besson, the celebrated French director for glossiness and bloat. Still, it’s worth noting: his lavishly upholstered romantic vampire tale displays creativity and style – and amid its theatrical camp, I might just favor compared with Eggers’s dignified recent take of Nosferatu. Odd details emerge, including one shot that seems to depict a geographic divide between France and Romania.
The Veteran Actor as a Witty Yet Careworn Clergyman Hunting Vampires
Christoph Waltz portrays a humorous yet burdened cleric fighting vampires – I can’t believe he hasn’t played such a part earlier – who ends up in Paris in 1889 during the centennial of the French Revolution. The same goes for the malevolent vampire count, enacted by the expert in grotesque roles Caleb Landry Jones with a mangled central European accent evoking Carell’s Gru character in the Despicable Me films. This is a part suits him perfectly.
The Plot: A Tale of Love and Loss
The plot unfolds as follows: the vampire lord has been restlessly roaming the earth in anguish for 400 years after his transformation into a vampire, a consequence for his irreligious grief after the passing of his spouse Elisabeta (a first film part for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). Dracula has been searching, searching, searching for some woman who would be the reincarnation of his deceased partner. As ill fortune would have it, the lucky lady proves to be Mina (portrayed once more by Bleu), the modest betrothed of Dracula’s wimpish land agent, Jonathan Harker (enacted by Ewens Abid), who has recently been to the vampire’s estate to review his real estate holdings and the tiny painting of the lovely Mina caught the count’s hooded eye.
Besson’s Handling and Lighthearted Touch
Besson structures Dracula’s second-act backstory of international journeys sporting extravagant attire skillfully, and he willingly includes giving us some comedy moments in the style of Mel Brooks – for example the count’s repeated and futile attempts to commit suicide after Elisabeta’s death, along with absurd moments that occur when Dracula sprays himself with a specific fragrance during the 1700s in Florence, which causes him to be irresistible to women. Outlandish but entertaining.
Dracula is on digital platforms from 1 December and in disc format from December 22nd. It plays in Australian cinemas from 5 February 2026.
