Dracula Review – Besson’s Love-Struck Revamp of the Gothic Classic is Ridiculous but Watchable
Perhaps audiences aren’t clamoring for an updated adaptation of Dracula from Luc Besson, the celebrated French director for polished extravagance. However, one must admit: his richly designed romantic vampire tale displays creativity and style – and in all its Hammer-y cheesiness, it could be preferable compared with Eggers’s dignified recent take of Nosferatu. There are some very bizarre touches, including one shot that seems to depict a geographic divide between France and Romania.
The Veteran Actor as a Witty Yet Careworn Priest Tracking the Undead
Christoph Waltz embodies a humorous yet burdened vampire-hunting priest – 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. The same goes for the malevolent vampire count, played by the seasoned horror actor Caleb Landry Jones with a mangled central European accent similar to Carell’s Gru character in the Despicable Me films. This is a part he seemed destined to play.
The Story: A Saga of Heartbreak
The plot unfolds as follows: the count has been restlessly roaming the globe in sorrow for 400 years since he became undead, a punishment for his faithless sorrow following the loss of his spouse Elisabeta (a movie debut role for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). the vampire has looked tirelessly for a female who might be the reincarnation of his departed beloved. By cruel fate, the chosen woman is revealed as Mina (also Bleu, of course), the reserved future wife of the count’s timid estate manager, Jonathan Harker (Ewens Abid), who just traveled to the vampire’s estate to review his property portfolio and the small picture of the lovely Mina attracted Dracula’s gaze.
The Filmmaker’s Approach and Comic Flair
Besson organizes Dracula’s middle-section history of worldwide travels in various outrageous costumes confidently, and he willingly includes offering funny bits in the style of Mel Brooks – like the count’s repeated and futile attempts to end his own life after Elisabeta’s death, in addition to absurd moments that occur when Dracula douses himself in a certain perfume during the 1700s in Florence, that renders him irresistible to women. Outlandish but entertaining.
Dracula can be streamed online from 1 December and for physical purchase from 22 December. It plays in Australian cinemas starting February 5, 2026.