Dracula Review – The French Director’s Love-Struck Revamp of the Classic Horror Story is Absurd 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. Still, it’s worth noting: his lavishly upholstered romantic vampire tale has ambition and panache – and in all its Hammer-y cheesiness, it could be preferable over the recent, stately interpretation by Robert Eggers of Nosferatu. Odd details emerge, like a particular moment that appears to show a land border between France and Romania.
Waltz as a Clever but Weary Vampire-Hunting Priest
Christoph Waltz embodies a clever but beleaguered cleric fighting vampires – it’s surprising he never took on such a part earlier – who arrives in Paris in 1889 to mark the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. So does the malevolent vampire count, played by the body-horror veteran Caleb Landry Jones speaking in a twisted regional dialect evoking the voice of Gru by Steve Carell from the Despicable Me comedies. This is a part suits him perfectly.
The Story: A Saga of Heartbreak
The plot unfolds as follows: the count has traveled ceaselessly the earth in torment over four centuries since he became undead, a penalty due to his blasphemous mourning following the loss of his spouse Elisabeta (a movie debut role for Zoë Bleu, the offspring of Rosanna Arquette). Dracula has sought relentlessly for a lady who would be the reincarnation of his deceased partner. Unfortunately, the fortunate female is revealed as Mina (again played by Bleu), the modest betrothed of Dracula’s feeble property handler, Jonathan Harker (played by Ewens Abid), who has recently been to the count’s castle to discuss his property portfolio and the small picture of the winsome Mina attracted Dracula’s gaze.
The Filmmaker’s Approach and Humorous Style
Besson organizes Dracula’s middle-section history of worldwide travels in various outrageous costumes confidently, and he willingly includes providing some comedy moments in the style of Mel Brooks – like Dracula’s ongoing failed efforts to commit suicide post-Elisabeta’s demise, as well as absurd moments that follow Dracula douses himself in a certain perfume during the 1700s in Florence, which causes him to be compelling to the opposite sex. Absurd yet engaging.
Dracula is on digital platforms from 1 December and on DVD and Blu-ray starting the twenty-second of December. It plays in Australian cinemas starting February 5, 2026.
