Dracula Review – Besson’s Passionate Reinterpretation of the Timeless Gothic Tale is Ridiculous but Watchable
Perhaps there is no great enthusiasm for a fresh take of Dracula from Luc Besson, the French maestro for glossiness and bloat. And yet, it has to be said: his richly designed love story with vampires has ambition and panache – and with its B-movie charm, I’m not sure I wouldn’t prefer compared with the recent, stately interpretation by Robert Eggers of Nosferatu. There are some very bizarre touches, like a particular moment that seems to depict a land border between France and Romania.
Christoph Waltz as a Witty Yet Careworn Priest Tracking the Undead
Christoph Waltz plays a witty yet careworn cleric fighting vampires – it’s surprising he never took on this role before – who arrives in Paris in 1889 during the centennial of the French Revolution. Likewise present is the malevolent vampire count, enacted by the body-horror veteran Caleb Landry Jones speaking in a twisted regional dialect similar to Steve Carell’s Gru of the Despicable Me series. This is a part he seemed destined to play.
The Narrative: A Chronicle of Longing
Here’s the premise: Dracula has been restlessly roaming the globe in sorrow for 400 years following his rise as one of the undead, a consequence for his faithless sorrow over the death of his beloved Elisabeta (a first film part for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). Dracula has looked tirelessly for a lady who might be the rebirth of his deceased partner. As ill fortune would have it, the fortunate female is revealed as Mina (portrayed once more by Bleu), the modest betrothed of Dracula’s feeble property handler, Jonathan Harker (played by Ewens Abid), who lately visited to Dracula’s fortress to negotiate his land assets and the tiny painting of the charming Mina drew the vampire’s attention.
The Filmmaker’s Approach and Comic Flair
Besson structures Dracula’s second-act backstory of worldwide travels sporting extravagant attire with a sure hand, and he doesn’t shy away from offering funny bits reminiscent of Mel Brooks – for example the vampire’s constant unsuccessful tries to commit suicide after Elisabeta’s death, as well as farcical scenes that occur when Dracula sprays himself in a certain perfume during the 1700s in Florence, which makes him compelling to the opposite sex. Ridiculous and watchable.
Dracula can be streamed online from 1 December and on DVD and Blu-ray starting the twenty-second of December. It will be shown in Australian cinemas from 5 February 2026.
