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

It’s possible there is no great enthusiasm for an updated adaptation of Dracula from Luc Besson, the French maestro for glossiness and bloat. Still, it’s worth noting: his richly designed love story with vampires displays creativity and style – 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. There are some very bizarre touches, including one shot that appears to show a geographic divide between France and Romania.

Christoph Waltz as a Humorously Exhausted Clergyman Hunting Vampires

Christoph Waltz embodies a humorous yet burdened man of the church pursuing the undead – it feels natural for him to tackle such a part earlier – who arrives in Paris in 1889 during the centennial of the French Revolution. So does the sinister Dracula, played by the seasoned horror actor Caleb Landry Jones speaking in a twisted regional dialect evoking Steve Carell’s Gru in the Despicable Me films. This is a part he seemed destined to play.

The Story: A Tale of Love and Loss

The plot unfolds as follows: the count has been restlessly roaming the globe in torment over four centuries after his transformation into a vampire, a punishment due to his blasphemous mourning after the passing of his wife, Elisabeta (an inaugural screen appearance for Zoë Bleu, Rosanna Arquette’s child). Dracula has looked tirelessly for a lady who could be the return of his deceased partner. As ill fortune would have it, the chosen woman turns out to be Mina (again played by Bleu), the demure fiancee of the count’s timid estate manager, Jonathan Harker (Ewens Abid), who lately visited to Dracula’s fortress to discuss his real estate holdings and the tiny painting of the charming Mina attracted Dracula’s gaze.

Besson’s Direction and Comic Flair

Besson structures Dracula’s flashback sequence of worldwide travels sporting extravagant attire confidently, and he is not above giving us humorous scenes with a distinctly Mel Brooks flavour – such as Dracula’s ongoing failed efforts to commit suicide following Elisabeta’s passing, along with absurd moments that occur when Dracula sprays himself with a specific fragrance during the 1700s in Florence, which makes him compelling to the opposite sex. Outlandish but entertaining.

Dracula can be streamed online starting December 1st and in disc format from 22 December. It plays in Australian cinemas beginning on the fifth of February, 2026.