Dracula Review – Luc Besson’s Passionate Reinterpretation of the Gothic Classic is Ridiculous but Engaging

Perhaps audiences aren’t clamoring for an updated adaptation of Dracula from Luc Besson, the filmmaker known for glossiness and bloat. However, it’s worth noting: his lavishly upholstered romantic vampire tale has ambition and panache – and in all its Hammer-y cheesiness, I’m not sure I wouldn’t prefer over the recent, stately interpretation by Robert Eggers of Nosferatu. Odd details emerge, like a particular moment that appears to show a land border between France and Romania.

Waltz as a Humorously Exhausted Vampire-Hunting Priest

Christoph Waltz embodies a witty yet careworn vampire-hunting priest – it’s surprising he never took on such a part earlier – who arrives in Paris in 1889 to mark the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. So does the sinister Dracula, played by the expert in grotesque roles Caleb Landry Jones using a distorted Eastern European tone reminiscent of Carell’s Gru character in the Despicable Me films. It’s a role he seemed destined to play.

The Narrative: A Saga of Heartbreak

The plot unfolds as follows: the count has traveled ceaselessly the globe in torment for hundreds of years following his rise as one of the undead, a consequence due to his blasphemous mourning following the loss of his spouse Elisabeta (a movie debut role for Zoë Bleu, Rosanna Arquette’s child). The count has looked tirelessly for a lady who could be the reincarnation of his departed beloved. By cruel fate, the fortunate female proves to be Mina (again played by Bleu), the modest betrothed of the count’s timid estate manager, Jonathan Harker (Ewens Abid), who has recently been to the vampire’s estate to discuss his land assets and the small picture of the winsome Mina caught the count’s hooded eye.

Besson’s Direction and Comic Flair

Besson organizes Dracula’s second-act backstory of global roaming sporting extravagant attire skillfully, and he doesn’t shy away from offering some comedy moments in the style of Mel Brooks – for example Dracula’s ongoing failed efforts to commit suicide following Elisabeta’s passing, along with farcical scenes that occur when Dracula douses himself in a certain perfume during the 1700s in Florence, which makes him unavoidably attractive to females. 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.