Dracula Review – Besson’s Romantic Reimagining of the Gothic Classic is Ridiculous but Watchable
It’s possible there is no great enthusiasm for a new version of Dracula from Luc Besson, the French maestro for glossiness and bloat. And yet, one must admit: his richly designed romantic vampire tale has ambition and panache – and in all its Hammer-y cheesiness, I’m not sure I wouldn’t prefer to it to the recent, stately interpretation by Robert Eggers of Nosferatu. A few strange elements appear, like a particular moment that looks like it presents a land border between France and Romania.
Christoph Waltz as a Clever but Weary Clergyman Hunting Vampires
Christoph Waltz plays a humorous yet burdened cleric fighting vampires – it’s surprising he never took on this character previously – who arrives in Paris in 1889 to mark the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. So does the malevolent vampire count, brought to life by the body-horror veteran Caleb Landry Jones with a mangled central European accent evoking the voice of Gru by Steve Carell in the Despicable Me films. This is a part that he too was born to take on.
The Plot: A Tale of Love and Loss
The plot unfolds as follows: the vampire lord has wandered endlessly the world in anguish for 400 years after his transformation into a vampire, a consequence for his irreligious grief following the loss of his beloved Elisabeta (an inaugural screen appearance for Zoë Bleu, Rosanna Arquette’s child). the vampire has sought relentlessly for a lady who could be the return of his departed beloved. As ill fortune would have it, the fortunate female proves to be Mina (again played by Bleu), the modest betrothed of the count’s timid estate manager, Jonathan Harker (enacted by Ewens Abid), who just traveled to Dracula’s fortress to negotiate his real estate holdings and the tiny painting of the charming Mina attracted Dracula’s gaze.
Besson’s Handling and Humorous Style
Besson organizes Dracula’s second-act backstory of worldwide travels in various outrageous costumes confidently, and he willingly includes providing humorous scenes reminiscent of Mel Brooks – like the vampire’s constant unsuccessful tries to end his own life post-Elisabeta’s demise, along with comical sequences that result after Dracula applies to himself in a certain perfume during the 1700s in Florence, which makes him irresistible to women. Outlandish but entertaining.
Dracula is on digital platforms starting December 1st and in disc format starting the twenty-second of December. It will be shown in Australian cinemas from 5 February 2026.