Dracula Movie Critique – The French Director’s Passionate Revamp of the Timeless Gothic Tale is Absurd but Watchable
It’s possible interest is limited for a fresh take of Dracula from Luc Besson, the filmmaker known for stylish excess. And yet, it has to be said: his lavishly upholstered romantic vampire tale has ambition and panache – and in all its Hammer-y cheesiness, I might just favor compared with the recent, stately interpretation by Robert Eggers 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 Clergyman Hunting Vampires
Christoph Waltz plays a humorous yet burdened man of the church pursuing the undead – it’s surprising he never took on this role before – who ends up in Paris in 1889 to mark the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. So does the malevolent vampire count, enacted by the seasoned horror actor Caleb Landry Jones speaking in a twisted regional dialect similar to the voice of Gru by Steve Carell in the Despicable Me films. It’s a role suits him perfectly.
The Narrative: A Saga of Heartbreak
The plot unfolds as follows: Dracula has wandered endlessly the globe in torment over four centuries since he became undead, a penalty for his faithless sorrow after the passing of his spouse Elisabeta (a first film part for Zoë Bleu, the offspring of Rosanna Arquette). The count has looked tirelessly for some woman who could be the reincarnation of his lost love. By cruel fate, the fortunate female is revealed as Mina (portrayed once more by Bleu), the modest betrothed of Dracula’s feeble property handler, Jonathan Harker (Ewens Abid), who just traveled to Dracula’s fortress to negotiate his property portfolio and whose miniature portrait of the charming Mina drew the vampire’s attention.
The Filmmaker’s Approach and Comic Flair
Besson arranges Dracula’s second-act backstory of international journeys in various outrageous costumes skillfully, and he willingly includes providing funny bits with a distinctly Mel Brooks flavour – for example the vampire’s constant unsuccessful tries to commit suicide following Elisabeta’s passing, as well as absurd moments that occur when Dracula applies to himself in a certain perfume during the 1700s in Florence, which causes him to be unavoidably attractive to females. Ridiculous and watchable.
Dracula can be streamed online beginning on the first of December and for physical purchase from December 22nd. It screens in Australian cinemas from 5 February 2026.
