Dracula Review – Besson’s Romantic Reinterpretation of the Gothic Classic is Outlandish but Watchable
It’s possible audiences aren’t clamoring for a fresh take of Dracula from Luc Besson, the celebrated French director for stylish excess. Still, one must admit: his lavishly upholstered vampire romance has ambition and panache – and with its B-movie charm, I’m not sure I wouldn’t prefer to it to the recent, stately interpretation by Robert Eggers of Nosferatu. A few strange elements appear, such as a scene that looks like it presents a land border between France and Romania.
Christoph Waltz as a Witty Yet Careworn Vampire-Hunting Priest
Christoph Waltz plays a witty yet careworn cleric fighting vampires – I can’t believe he hasn’t played such a part earlier – who finds himself in Paris in 1889 during the centennial of the French Revolution. Likewise present is the evil Count Dracula, brought to life by the expert in grotesque roles Caleb Landry Jones speaking in a twisted regional dialect reminiscent of the voice of Gru by Steve Carell from the Despicable Me comedies. This is a part that he too was born to take on.
The Narrative: A Tale of Love and Loss
The plot unfolds as follows: Dracula has traveled ceaselessly the globe in anguish for 400 years following his rise as one of the undead, a consequence for his faithless sorrow following the loss of his beloved Elisabeta (a first film part for Zoë Bleu, the offspring of Rosanna Arquette). Dracula has sought relentlessly for a lady who could be the rebirth of his departed beloved. As ill fortune would have it, the chosen woman proves to be Mina (also Bleu, of course), the reserved future wife of Dracula’s wimpish land agent, Jonathan Harker (played by Ewens Abid), who has recently been to the vampire’s estate to discuss his property portfolio and the small picture of the charming Mina drew the vampire’s attention.
Besson’s Handling and Comic Flair
Besson arranges Dracula’s flashback sequence of global roaming wearing flamboyant outfits confidently, and he is not above offering some comedy moments with a distinctly Mel Brooks flavour – like the vampire’s constant unsuccessful tries to end his own life following Elisabeta’s passing, along with farcical scenes that result after Dracula douses himself in a certain perfume during the 1700s in Florence, which causes him to be compelling to the opposite sex. Ridiculous and watchable.
Dracula is available digitally beginning on the first of December and on DVD and Blu-ray starting the twenty-second of December. It plays in Australian cinemas from 5 February 2026.
