Dracula Review – Luc Besson’s Romantic Reinterpretation of the Gothic Classic is Ridiculous but Entertaining

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 opulently crafted love story with vampires has ambition and panache – and in all its Hammer-y cheesiness, I’m not sure I wouldn’t prefer over Eggers’s dignified recent take of Nosferatu. There are some very bizarre touches, like a particular moment that appears to show a territorial boundary between France and Romania.

Waltz as a Clever but Weary Clergyman Hunting Vampires

Christoph Waltz portrays a humorous yet burdened vampire-hunting priest – I can’t believe he hasn’t played such a part earlier – who ends up in Paris in 1889 during the centennial of the French Revolution. Likewise present is the malevolent vampire count, enacted by the seasoned horror actor Caleb Landry Jones with a mangled central European accent similar to Carell’s Gru character in the Despicable Me films. This character that he too was born to take on.

The Plot: A Saga of Heartbreak

The plot unfolds as follows: the count has wandered endlessly the world in anguish for 400 years following his rise as one of the undead, a punishment due to his blasphemous mourning over the death of his beloved Elisabeta (an inaugural screen appearance for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). the vampire has looked tirelessly for a lady who would be the return of his departed beloved. As ill fortune would have it, the lucky lady proves to be Mina (portrayed once more by Bleu), the demure fiancee of the count’s timid estate manager, Jonathan Harker (Ewens Abid), who lately visited to Dracula’s fortress to discuss his land assets and the small picture of the winsome Mina caught the count’s hooded eye.

Besson’s Handling and Lighthearted Touch

Besson organizes Dracula’s flashback sequence of international journeys in various outrageous costumes with a sure hand, and he is not above providing funny bits reminiscent of Mel Brooks – such as Dracula’s ongoing failed efforts to end his own life following Elisabeta’s passing, as well as farcical scenes that follow Dracula douses himself in a certain perfume in 18th-century Florence, which causes him to be compelling to the opposite sex. Ridiculous and watchable.

Dracula is on digital platforms beginning on the first of December and in disc format starting the twenty-second of December. It plays in Australian cinemas beginning on the fifth of February, 2026.