Dracula Review – Besson’s Passionate Revamp of the Timeless Gothic Tale is Outlandish but Entertaining
It’s possible there is no great enthusiasm for a new version of Dracula from Luc Besson, the French maestro for glossiness and bloat. However, one must admit: his richly designed love story with vampires displays creativity and style – and in all its Hammer-y cheesiness, it could be preferable compared with the recent, stately interpretation by Robert Eggers of Nosferatu. A few strange elements appear, such as a scene that appears to show a land border between France and Romania.
The Veteran Actor as a Witty Yet Careworn Priest Tracking the Undead
Christoph Waltz embodies a witty yet careworn vampire-hunting priest – I can’t believe he hasn’t played this character previously – who arrives in Paris in 1889 to mark the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. Likewise present is the malevolent vampire count, 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. It’s a role he seemed destined to play.
The Narrative: A Saga of Heartbreak
The plot unfolds as follows: Dracula has been restlessly roaming the earth in torment for 400 years following his rise as one of the undead, a consequence for his faithless sorrow over the death of his spouse Elisabeta (a first film part for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). Dracula has looked tirelessly for a female who would be the return of his lost love. Unfortunately, the chosen woman proves to be Mina (also Bleu, of course), the modest betrothed of Dracula’s wimpish land agent, Jonathan Harker (played by Ewens Abid), who lately visited to the count’s castle to negotiate his property portfolio and the small picture of the lovely Mina caught the count’s hooded eye.
The Filmmaker’s Approach and Lighthearted Touch
Besson organizes Dracula’s middle-section history of international journeys in various outrageous costumes confidently, and he is not above offering humorous scenes with a distinctly Mel Brooks flavour – for example the vampire’s constant unsuccessful tries to end his own life after Elisabeta’s death, in addition to farcical scenes that occur when Dracula applies to himself in a certain perfume in 18th-century Florence, that renders him compelling to the opposite sex. Absurd yet engaging.
Dracula is available digitally beginning on the first of December and for physical purchase from December 22nd. It will be shown in Australian cinemas from 5 February 2026.