Dracula Review – The French Director’s Passionate Reimagining of the Timeless Gothic Tale is Outlandish but Entertaining
Maybe audiences aren’t clamoring for an updated adaptation of Dracula from Luc Besson, the filmmaker known for stylish excess. And yet, it has to be said: his richly designed love story with vampires boasts bold vision and flair – and amid its theatrical camp, I might just favor over Eggers’s dignified recent take of Nosferatu. Odd details emerge, including one shot that looks like it presents a territorial boundary between France and Romania.
Christoph Waltz as a Witty Yet Careworn Vampire-Hunting Priest
Christoph Waltz portrays a clever but beleaguered man of the church pursuing the undead – I can’t believe he hasn’t played such a part earlier – who arrives in Paris in 1889 to mark the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. So does the sinister Dracula, enacted by the seasoned horror actor Caleb Landry Jones using a distorted Eastern European tone similar to the voice of Gru by Steve Carell from the Despicable Me comedies. It’s a role suits him perfectly.
The Plot: A Tale of Love and Loss
The plot unfolds as follows: the vampire lord has been restlessly roaming the world in sorrow for hundreds of years after his transformation into a vampire, a punishment due to his blasphemous mourning over the death of his spouse Elisabeta (a first film part for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). Dracula has looked tirelessly for some woman who could be the rebirth of his deceased partner. By cruel fate, the lucky lady turns out to be Mina (again played by Bleu), the reserved future wife of the count’s timid estate manager, Jonathan Harker (Ewens Abid), who lately visited to Dracula’s fortress to discuss his land assets and the small picture of the lovely Mina drew the vampire’s attention.
The Filmmaker’s Approach and Comic Flair
Besson arranges Dracula’s middle-section history of global roaming wearing flamboyant outfits confidently, and he willingly includes giving us humorous scenes with a distinctly Mel Brooks flavour – for example Dracula’s ongoing failed efforts to commit suicide post-Elisabeta’s demise, along with absurd moments that occur when Dracula douses himself using a particular scent in historic Florence, which makes him irresistible to women. Absurd yet engaging.
Dracula is available digitally beginning on the first of December and in disc format from 22 December. It plays in Australian cinemas beginning on the fifth of February, 2026.
