Dracula Review – Besson’s Passionate Reinterpretation of the Gothic Classic is Ridiculous but Watchable

It’s possible interest is limited for a new version of Dracula from Luc Besson, the French maestro for polished extravagance. Still, it has to be said: his opulently crafted romantic vampire tale boasts bold vision and flair – and in all its Hammer-y cheesiness, I’m not sure I wouldn’t prefer over Eggers’s dignified recent take of Nosferatu. Odd details emerge, such as a scene that seems to depict a land border between France and Romania.

The Veteran Actor as a Clever but Weary Vampire-Hunting Priest

Christoph Waltz portrays a clever but beleaguered man of the church pursuing the undead – I can’t believe he hasn’t played this character previously – who ends up in Paris in 1889 for the French Revolution centenary celebrations. Likewise present is the sinister Dracula, enacted by the body-horror veteran Caleb Landry Jones speaking in a twisted regional dialect reminiscent of the voice of Gru by Steve Carell of the Despicable Me series. It’s a role he seemed destined to play.

The Narrative: A Tale of Love and Loss

The plot unfolds as follows: the vampire lord has wandered endlessly the world in sorrow for 400 years following his rise as one of the undead, a penalty due to his blasphemous mourning following the loss of his beloved Elisabeta (a movie debut role for Zoë Bleu, the offspring of Rosanna Arquette). the vampire has sought relentlessly for some woman who might be the return of his lost love. Unfortunately, the fortunate female is revealed as Mina (portrayed once more by Bleu), the reserved future wife of Dracula’s wimpish land agent, Jonathan Harker (Ewens Abid), who has recently been to Dracula’s fortress to discuss his land assets and whose miniature portrait of the winsome Mina attracted Dracula’s gaze.

Besson’s Direction and Lighthearted Touch

Besson arranges Dracula’s middle-section history of worldwide travels wearing flamboyant outfits confidently, and he doesn’t shy away from providing humorous scenes in the style of Mel Brooks – like the count’s repeated and futile attempts to commit suicide following Elisabeta’s passing, as well as farcical scenes that occur when Dracula applies to himself with a specific fragrance in historic Florence, that renders him compelling to the opposite sex. Absurd yet engaging.

Dracula is on digital platforms beginning on the first of December and in disc format starting the twenty-second of December. It plays in Australian cinemas beginning on the fifth of February, 2026.