Dracula Review – The French Director’s Romantic Reinterpretation of the Timeless Gothic Tale is Outlandish but Watchable
Maybe there is no great enthusiasm for an updated adaptation of Dracula from Luc Besson, the French maestro for polished extravagance. And yet, it’s worth noting: his richly designed love story with vampires boasts bold vision and flair – and amid its theatrical camp, it could be preferable over Eggers’s dignified recent take of Nosferatu. A few strange elements appear, like a particular moment that seems to depict a territorial boundary between France and Romania.
Waltz as a Witty Yet Careworn Clergyman Hunting Vampires
Christoph Waltz embodies a clever but beleaguered cleric fighting vampires – it’s surprising he never took on this role before – who finds himself in Paris in 1889 for the French Revolution centenary celebrations. The same goes for the sinister Dracula, enacted by the expert in grotesque roles Caleb Landry Jones with a mangled central European accent reminiscent of the voice of Gru by Steve Carell in the Despicable Me films. It’s a role suits him perfectly.
The Plot: A Tale of Love and Loss
The story is this: the count has wandered endlessly the globe in torment for 400 years following his rise as one of the undead, a consequence for his irreligious grief following the loss of his wife, Elisabeta (a movie debut role for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). the vampire has sought relentlessly for a lady who would be the rebirth of his departed beloved. As ill fortune would have it, the lucky lady turns out to be Mina (also Bleu, of course), the demure fiancee of the count’s timid estate manager, Jonathan Harker (enacted by Ewens Abid), who has recently been to the count’s castle to discuss his land assets and the tiny painting of the lovely Mina drew the vampire’s attention.
Besson’s Handling and Lighthearted Touch
Besson arranges Dracula’s second-act backstory of global roaming wearing flamboyant outfits skillfully, and he is not above giving us funny bits with a distinctly Mel Brooks flavour – for example the vampire’s constant unsuccessful tries to kill himself after Elisabeta’s death, as well as comical sequences that result after Dracula sprays himself with a specific fragrance during the 1700s in Florence, which makes him compelling to the opposite sex. Ridiculous and watchable.
Dracula is available digitally from 1 December and for physical purchase from December 22nd. It will be shown in Australian cinemas from 5 February 2026.
