Dracula Review – Luc Besson’s Love-Struck Revamp of the Gothic Classic is Outlandish but Entertaining
It’s possible there is no great enthusiasm for a fresh take of Dracula from Luc Besson, the filmmaker known for glossiness and bloat. And yet, one must admit: his lavishly upholstered vampire romance boasts bold vision and flair – and with its B-movie charm, it could be preferable to it to the recent, stately interpretation by Robert Eggers of Nosferatu. A few strange elements appear, such as a scene that looks like it presents a geographic divide between France and Romania.
The Veteran Actor as a Clever but Weary Priest Tracking the Undead
Christoph Waltz embodies a witty yet careworn cleric fighting vampires – it’s surprising he never took on such a part earlier – who ends up in Paris in 1889 for the French Revolution centenary celebrations. Likewise present is the sinister Dracula, brought to life by the expert in grotesque roles Caleb Landry Jones speaking in a twisted regional dialect similar to the voice of Gru by Steve Carell from the Despicable Me comedies. It’s a role he seemed destined to play.
The Narrative: A Chronicle of Longing
The story is this: Dracula has been restlessly roaming the earth in anguish for 400 years following his rise as one of the undead, a consequence for his faithless sorrow after the passing of his beloved Elisabeta (a movie debut role for Zoë Bleu, Rosanna Arquette’s child). The count has sought relentlessly for some woman who would be the reincarnation of his departed beloved. By cruel fate, the lucky lady turns out to be Mina (portrayed once more by Bleu), the demure fiancee of Dracula’s wimpish land agent, Jonathan Harker (played by Ewens Abid), who lately visited to the count’s castle to review his land assets and the small picture of the lovely Mina attracted Dracula’s gaze.
Besson’s Handling and Comic Flair
Besson organizes Dracula’s middle-section history of global roaming in various outrageous costumes confidently, and he doesn’t shy away from providing humorous scenes reminiscent of Mel Brooks – for example the vampire’s constant unsuccessful tries to kill himself following Elisabeta’s passing, as well as farcical scenes that follow Dracula douses himself in a certain perfume in 18th-century Florence, that renders him 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.
