Dracula Review – The French Director’s Romantic Reimagining of the Gothic Classic is Ridiculous but Entertaining

Perhaps there is no great enthusiasm for an updated adaptation of Dracula from Luc Besson, the celebrated French director for polished extravagance. Still, one must admit: his opulently crafted love story with vampires has ambition and panache – and in all its Hammer-y cheesiness, I might just favor compared with Eggers’s dignified recent take of Nosferatu. Odd details emerge, such as a scene that appears to show a territorial boundary between France and Romania.

The Veteran Actor as a Witty Yet Careworn Priest Tracking the Undead

Christoph Waltz plays a humorous yet burdened man of the church pursuing the undead – it feels natural for him to tackle such a part earlier – who finds himself in Paris in 1889 for the French Revolution centenary celebrations. Likewise present is the malevolent vampire count, played by the expert in grotesque roles Caleb Landry Jones with a mangled central European accent reminiscent of the voice of Gru by Steve Carell in the Despicable Me films. It’s a role suits him perfectly.

The Narrative: A Tale of Love and Loss

Here’s the premise: the vampire lord has traveled ceaselessly the earth in anguish over four centuries after his transformation into a vampire, a consequence due to his blasphemous mourning after the passing of his wife, Elisabeta (an inaugural screen appearance for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). The count has been searching, searching, searching for a lady who could be the reincarnation of his deceased partner. By cruel fate, the lucky lady is revealed as Mina (portrayed once more by Bleu), the demure fiancee of Dracula’s feeble property handler, Jonathan Harker (played by Ewens Abid), who has recently been to the vampire’s estate to negotiate his real estate holdings and the tiny painting of the charming Mina drew the vampire’s attention.

The Filmmaker’s Approach and Humorous Style

Besson structures Dracula’s second-act backstory of worldwide travels wearing flamboyant outfits skillfully, and he willingly includes giving us some comedy moments with a distinctly Mel Brooks flavour – like the vampire’s constant unsuccessful tries to commit suicide after Elisabeta’s death, along with comical sequences that occur when Dracula applies to himself using a particular scent in historic Florence, which causes him to be compelling to the opposite sex. Ridiculous and watchable.

Dracula can be streamed online beginning on the first of December and on DVD and Blu-ray from 22 December. It plays in Australian cinemas beginning on the fifth of February, 2026.