Dracula Movie Critique – Besson’s Passionate Reimagining of the Classic Horror Story is Ridiculous but Engaging
Maybe audiences aren’t clamoring for a fresh take of Dracula from Luc Besson, the filmmaker known for glossiness and bloat. And yet, it has to be said: his lavishly upholstered vampire romance boasts bold vision and flair – and with its B-movie charm, I’m not sure I wouldn’t prefer over the recent, stately interpretation by Robert Eggers of Nosferatu. A few strange elements appear, like a particular moment that seems to depict a geographic divide between France and Romania.
The Veteran Actor as a Humorously Exhausted Vampire-Hunting Priest
Christoph Waltz plays a humorous yet burdened vampire-hunting priest – it feels natural for him to tackle this role before – who arrives in Paris in 1889 during the centennial of the French Revolution. The same goes for the sinister Dracula, played by the body-horror veteran Caleb Landry Jones speaking in a twisted regional dialect evoking the voice of Gru by Steve Carell from the Despicable Me comedies. This character that he too was born to take on.
The Narrative: A Chronicle of Longing
The plot unfolds as follows: the vampire lord has traveled ceaselessly the world in torment for hundreds of years after his transformation into a vampire, a punishment for his faithless sorrow following the loss of his spouse Elisabeta (an inaugural screen appearance for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). the vampire has looked tirelessly for a female who could be the return of his lost love. As ill fortune would have it, the fortunate female is revealed as Mina (also Bleu, of course), the modest betrothed of Dracula’s feeble property handler, Jonathan Harker (Ewens Abid), who just traveled to the count’s castle to discuss his real estate holdings and the small picture of the charming Mina caught the count’s hooded eye.
The Filmmaker’s Approach and Lighthearted Touch
Besson organizes Dracula’s middle-section history of international journeys in various outrageous costumes skillfully, and he doesn’t shy away from giving us some comedy moments reminiscent of Mel Brooks – like the vampire’s constant unsuccessful tries to kill himself following Elisabeta’s passing, as well as comical sequences that follow Dracula applies to himself using a particular scent during the 1700s in Florence, which makes him unavoidably attractive to females. Outlandish but entertaining.
Dracula can be streamed online from 1 December and on DVD and Blu-ray from 22 December. It screens in Australian cinemas from 5 February 2026.