Dracula Review – The French Director’s Love-Struck Reimagining of the Classic Horror Story is Outlandish but Engaging

Perhaps audiences aren’t clamoring for a fresh take of Dracula from Luc Besson, the filmmaker known for glossiness and bloat. Still, it has to be said: his opulently crafted vampire romance boasts bold vision and flair – and in all its Hammer-y cheesiness, it could be preferable over the recent, stately interpretation by Robert Eggers of Nosferatu. A few strange elements appear, like a particular moment that looks like it presents a territorial boundary between France and Romania.

Christoph Waltz as a Humorously Exhausted Clergyman Hunting Vampires

Christoph Waltz plays a clever but beleaguered vampire-hunting priest – I can’t believe he hasn’t played such a part earlier – who finds himself in Paris in 1889 for the French Revolution centenary celebrations. The same goes for the evil Count Dracula, enacted by the body-horror veteran Caleb Landry Jones using a distorted Eastern European tone reminiscent of Carell’s Gru character in the Despicable Me films. This is a part that he too was born to take on.

The Plot: A Tale of Love and Loss

The plot unfolds as follows: the count has traveled ceaselessly the globe in sorrow for 400 years after his transformation into a vampire, a consequence for his faithless sorrow following the loss of his beloved Elisabeta (an inaugural screen appearance for Zoë Bleu, the offspring of Rosanna Arquette). the vampire has looked tirelessly for a female who might be the reincarnation of his lost love. As ill fortune would have it, the lucky lady is revealed as Mina (portrayed once more by Bleu), the demure fiancee of Dracula’s feeble property handler, Jonathan Harker (played by Ewens Abid), who lately visited to Dracula’s fortress to discuss his property portfolio and the small picture of the charming Mina drew the vampire’s attention.

The Filmmaker’s Approach and Comic Flair

Besson arranges Dracula’s middle-section history of worldwide travels sporting extravagant attire confidently, and he doesn’t shy away from giving us funny bits reminiscent of Mel Brooks – such as the count’s repeated and futile attempts to end his own life post-Elisabeta’s demise, along with farcical scenes that result after Dracula sprays himself using a particular scent in historic Florence, which makes him unavoidably attractive to females. Absurd yet engaging.

Dracula can be streamed online from 1 December and on DVD and Blu-ray from 22 December. It screens in Australian cinemas beginning on the fifth of February, 2026.