Dracula Review – Besson’s Passionate Revamp of the Timeless Gothic Tale is Absurd but Engaging
It’s possible audiences aren’t clamoring for a fresh take of Dracula from Luc Besson, the French maestro for stylish excess. And yet, it has to be said: his richly designed vampire romance boasts bold vision and flair – and in all its Hammer-y cheesiness, I might just favor over Robert Eggers’s recent, solemnly classy version of Nosferatu. There are some very bizarre touches, like a particular moment that appears to show a geographic divide between France and Romania.
The Veteran Actor as a Humorously Exhausted Priest Tracking the Undead
Christoph Waltz portrays a clever but beleaguered cleric fighting vampires – it’s surprising he never took on this character previously – who finds himself in Paris in 1889 to mark the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. Likewise present is the malevolent vampire count, brought to life by the body-horror veteran Caleb Landry Jones with a mangled central European accent similar to Steve Carell’s Gru of the Despicable Me series. This is a part suits him perfectly.
The Narrative: A Chronicle of Longing
The plot unfolds as follows: the vampire lord has been restlessly roaming the world in anguish for hundreds of years since he became undead, a punishment for his irreligious grief following the loss of his beloved Elisabeta (a movie debut role for Zoë Bleu, the offspring of Rosanna Arquette). Dracula has looked tirelessly for a female who would be the reincarnation of his lost love. Unfortunately, the fortunate female turns out to be Mina (again played by Bleu), the modest betrothed of Dracula’s feeble property handler, Jonathan Harker (Ewens Abid), who just traveled 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 Humorous Style
Besson arranges Dracula’s flashback sequence of global roaming sporting extravagant attire skillfully, and he is not above providing humorous scenes with a distinctly Mel Brooks flavour – for example Dracula’s ongoing failed efforts to kill himself after Elisabeta’s death, as well as farcical scenes that follow Dracula sprays himself with a specific fragrance in 18th-century Florence, which causes him to be compelling to the opposite sex. Outlandish but entertaining.
Dracula is available digitally starting December 1st and for physical purchase from December 22nd. It screens in Australian cinemas from 5 February 2026.
