Dracula Review – The French Director’s Passionate Revamp of the Timeless Gothic Tale is Absurd but Entertaining

It’s possible there is no great enthusiasm for an updated adaptation of Dracula from Luc Besson, the filmmaker known for polished extravagance. And yet, one must admit: his richly designed love story with vampires displays creativity and style – and in all its Hammer-y cheesiness, I might just favor to it to Eggers’s dignified recent take of Nosferatu. Odd details emerge, like a particular moment that seems to depict a land border between France and Romania.

Waltz as a Witty Yet Careworn Vampire-Hunting Priest

Christoph Waltz embodies a witty yet careworn vampire-hunting priest – it’s surprising he never took on this character previously – who arrives in Paris in 1889 to mark the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. The same goes for the evil Count Dracula, played by the seasoned horror actor Caleb Landry Jones using a distorted Eastern European tone evoking the voice of Gru by Steve Carell of the Despicable Me series. This is a part he seemed destined to play.

The Narrative: A Chronicle of Longing

The plot unfolds as follows: the vampire lord has been restlessly roaming the globe in torment over four centuries following his rise as one of the undead, a punishment for his faithless sorrow over the death of his wife, Elisabeta (an inaugural screen appearance for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). The count has been searching, searching, searching for some woman who could be the return of his deceased partner. Unfortunately, the lucky lady turns out to be Mina (portrayed once more by Bleu), the reserved future wife of Dracula’s wimpish land agent, Jonathan Harker (enacted by Ewens Abid), who just traveled to Dracula’s fortress to review his real estate holdings and the tiny painting of the charming Mina drew the vampire’s attention.

Besson’s Handling and Humorous Style

Besson structures Dracula’s middle-section history of international journeys sporting extravagant attire confidently, and he willingly includes offering humorous scenes in the style of Mel Brooks – like Dracula’s ongoing failed efforts to kill himself post-Elisabeta’s demise, along with farcical scenes that result after Dracula sprays himself in a certain perfume in 18th-century Florence, which causes him to be compelling to the opposite sex. Outlandish but entertaining.

Dracula can be streamed online beginning on the first of December and for physical purchase starting the twenty-second of December. It plays in Australian cinemas from 5 February 2026.