Dracula Review – Besson’s Passionate Reinterpretation of the Timeless Gothic Tale is Outlandish but Watchable
It’s possible interest is limited for a new version of Dracula from Luc Besson, the French maestro for stylish excess. However, it’s worth noting: his lavishly upholstered vampire romance boasts bold vision and flair – and with its B-movie charm, I might just favor compared with Eggers’s dignified recent take of Nosferatu. A few strange elements appear, including one shot that appears to show a geographic divide between France and Romania.
Waltz as a Humorously Exhausted Clergyman Hunting Vampires
Christoph Waltz plays a witty yet careworn cleric fighting vampires – I can’t believe he hasn’t played this character previously – who finds himself in Paris in 1889 to mark the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. The same goes for the malevolent vampire count, enacted by the seasoned horror actor Caleb Landry Jones speaking in a twisted regional dialect reminiscent of Carell’s Gru character of the Despicable Me series. This character that he too was born to take on.
The Narrative: A Tale of Love and Loss
The plot unfolds as follows: the count has wandered endlessly the world in anguish for hundreds of years after his transformation into a vampire, a punishment due to his blasphemous mourning over the death of his spouse Elisabeta (an inaugural screen appearance for Zoë Bleu, the offspring of Rosanna Arquette). the vampire has sought relentlessly for some woman who might be the reincarnation of his departed beloved. As ill fortune would have it, the fortunate female proves to be Mina (again played by Bleu), the reserved future wife of the count’s timid estate manager, Jonathan Harker (played by Ewens Abid), who lately visited to Dracula’s fortress to discuss his land assets and whose miniature portrait of the charming Mina caught the count’s hooded eye.
Besson’s Direction and Humorous Style
Besson organizes Dracula’s flashback sequence of worldwide travels wearing flamboyant outfits with a sure hand, and he doesn’t shy away from providing some comedy moments in the style of Mel Brooks – for example Dracula’s ongoing failed efforts to kill himself following Elisabeta’s passing, along with absurd moments that result after Dracula sprays himself using a particular scent in historic Florence, which makes him unavoidably attractive to females. Outlandish but entertaining.
Dracula is on digital platforms from 1 December and on DVD and Blu-ray from December 22nd. It will be shown in Australian cinemas from 5 February 2026.
