Dracula Review – The French Director’s Romantic Reimagining of the Timeless Gothic Tale is Outlandish but Entertaining
Maybe interest is limited for a fresh take of Dracula from Luc Besson, the filmmaker known for polished extravagance. However, it’s worth noting: his lavishly upholstered love story with vampires has ambition and panache – and in all its Hammer-y cheesiness, it could be preferable compared with Eggers’s dignified recent take of Nosferatu. Odd details emerge, 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 portrays a witty yet careworn cleric fighting vampires – it feels natural for him to tackle this character previously – who arrives in Paris in 1889 during the centennial of the French Revolution. So does the evil Count Dracula, played by the expert in grotesque roles Caleb Landry Jones speaking in a twisted regional dialect reminiscent of the voice of Gru by Steve Carell in the Despicable Me films. This character suits him perfectly.
The Narrative: A Saga of Heartbreak
Here’s the premise: the count has been restlessly roaming the globe in anguish over four centuries since he became undead, a consequence due to his blasphemous mourning following the loss of his spouse Elisabeta (an inaugural screen appearance for Zoë Bleu, Rosanna Arquette’s child). Dracula has looked tirelessly for some woman who might be the return of his departed beloved. As ill fortune would have it, the chosen woman is revealed as Mina (again played by Bleu), the reserved future wife of the count’s timid estate manager, Jonathan Harker (Ewens Abid), who has recently been to Dracula’s fortress to discuss his real estate holdings and the small picture of the winsome Mina attracted Dracula’s gaze.
Besson’s Handling and Humorous Style
Besson arranges Dracula’s flashback sequence of worldwide travels sporting extravagant attire with a sure hand, and he is not above providing humorous scenes with a distinctly Mel Brooks flavour – like Dracula’s ongoing failed efforts to commit suicide post-Elisabeta’s demise, in addition to absurd moments that occur when Dracula applies to himself using a particular scent during the 1700s in Florence, which causes him to be irresistible to women. Outlandish but entertaining.
Dracula can be streamed online from 1 December and on DVD and Blu-ray from December 22nd. It plays in Australian cinemas beginning on the fifth of February, 2026.
