Dracula Review – Besson’s Passionate Reimagining of the Timeless Gothic Tale is Absurd but Watchable
Perhaps audiences aren’t clamoring for a new version of Dracula from Luc Besson, the filmmaker known for glossiness and bloat. And yet, it has to be said: his opulently crafted romantic vampire tale boasts bold vision and flair – and in all its Hammer-y cheesiness, I might just favor over Eggers’s dignified recent take of Nosferatu. There are some very bizarre touches, including one shot that looks like it presents a geographic divide between France and Romania.
The Veteran Actor as a Clever but Weary Vampire-Hunting Priest
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 to mark the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. The same goes for the sinister Dracula, brought to life by the body-horror veteran Caleb Landry Jones speaking in a twisted regional dialect evoking Steve Carell’s Gru from the Despicable Me comedies. It’s a role he seemed destined to play.
The Story: A Chronicle of Longing
The story is this: the vampire lord has wandered endlessly the earth in sorrow over four centuries following his rise as one of the undead, a punishment due to his blasphemous mourning following the loss of his wife, Elisabeta (an inaugural screen appearance for Zoë Bleu, the offspring of Rosanna Arquette). The count has looked tirelessly for a female who could be the rebirth of his lost love. Unfortunately, the fortunate female turns out to be Mina (portrayed once more by Bleu), the modest betrothed of Dracula’s feeble property handler, Jonathan Harker (Ewens Abid), who has recently been to the vampire’s estate to negotiate his real estate holdings and the tiny painting of the lovely Mina drew the vampire’s attention.
Besson’s Handling and Lighthearted Touch
Besson organizes Dracula’s second-act backstory of global roaming sporting extravagant attire with a sure hand, and he doesn’t shy away from giving us humorous scenes reminiscent of Mel Brooks – for example Dracula’s ongoing failed efforts to commit suicide following Elisabeta’s passing, along with comical sequences that occur when Dracula sprays himself with a specific fragrance in historic Florence, which causes him to be unavoidably attractive to females. Outlandish but entertaining.
Dracula can be streamed online from 1 December and in disc format from 22 December. It will be shown in Australian cinemas starting February 5, 2026.