Dracula Review – Besson’s Romantic Revamp of the Timeless Gothic Tale is Outlandish but Entertaining

Perhaps interest is limited for a new version of Dracula from Luc Besson, the celebrated French director for glossiness and bloat. And yet, it has to be said: his lavishly upholstered vampire romance displays creativity and style – and in all its Hammer-y cheesiness, I might just favor over the recent, stately interpretation by Robert Eggers of Nosferatu. A few strange elements appear, such as a scene that appears to show a land border between France and Romania.

The Veteran Actor as a Witty Yet Careworn Priest Tracking the Undead

Christoph Waltz portrays a witty yet careworn vampire-hunting priest – I can’t believe he hasn’t played this role before – who finds himself in Paris in 1889 during the centennial of the French Revolution. The same goes for the sinister Dracula, enacted by the body-horror veteran Caleb Landry Jones using a distorted Eastern European tone similar to Carell’s Gru character in the Despicable Me films. It’s a role he seemed destined to play.

The Narrative: A Tale of Love and Loss

The plot unfolds as follows: the vampire lord has been restlessly roaming the globe in anguish for 400 years following his rise as one of the undead, a penalty due to his blasphemous mourning over the death of his beloved Elisabeta (a first film part for Zoë Bleu, Rosanna Arquette’s child). the vampire has been searching, searching, searching for a female who would be the reincarnation of his departed beloved. Unfortunately, the lucky lady proves to be Mina (portrayed once more by Bleu), the modest betrothed of the count’s timid estate manager, Jonathan Harker (enacted by Ewens Abid), who just traveled to the vampire’s estate to review his real estate holdings and the small picture of the winsome Mina attracted Dracula’s gaze.

The Filmmaker’s Approach and Comic Flair

Besson structures Dracula’s flashback sequence of global roaming wearing flamboyant outfits skillfully, and he is not above offering some comedy moments in the style of Mel Brooks – such as the count’s repeated and futile attempts to kill himself post-Elisabeta’s demise, along with absurd moments that occur when Dracula applies to himself with a specific fragrance during the 1700s in Florence, which causes him to be irresistible to women. Ridiculous and watchable.

Dracula is available digitally from 1 December and in disc format starting the twenty-second of December. It will be shown in Australian cinemas from 5 February 2026.