Dracula Review – Luc Besson’s Romantic Reinterpretation of the Classic Horror Story is Outlandish but Engaging

Perhaps audiences aren’t clamoring for an updated adaptation of Dracula from Luc Besson, the filmmaker known for glossiness and bloat. Still, it’s worth noting: his opulently crafted vampire romance displays creativity and style – and in all its Hammer-y cheesiness, it could be preferable to it to the recent, stately interpretation by Robert Eggers of Nosferatu. Odd details emerge, including one shot that looks like it presents a land border between France and Romania.

The Veteran Actor as a Witty Yet Careworn Clergyman Hunting Vampires

Christoph Waltz embodies a witty yet careworn vampire-hunting priest – I can’t believe he hasn’t played this character previously – who finds himself in Paris in 1889 during the centennial of the French Revolution. Likewise present is the evil Count Dracula, enacted by the body-horror veteran Caleb Landry Jones using a distorted Eastern European tone reminiscent of the voice of Gru by Steve Carell in the Despicable Me films. This character suits him perfectly.

The Plot: A Saga of Heartbreak

Here’s the premise: the count has been restlessly roaming the world in sorrow for 400 years following his rise as one of the undead, a punishment for his irreligious grief following the loss of his beloved Elisabeta (an inaugural screen appearance for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). the vampire has looked tirelessly for some woman who would be the rebirth of his deceased partner. By cruel fate, the chosen woman turns out to be Mina (also Bleu, of course), the modest betrothed of the count’s timid estate manager, Jonathan Harker (played by Ewens Abid), who lately visited to the vampire’s estate to negotiate his real estate holdings and whose miniature portrait of the charming Mina caught the count’s hooded eye.

Besson’s Direction and Humorous Style

Besson organizes Dracula’s second-act backstory of worldwide travels wearing flamboyant outfits confidently, and he doesn’t shy away from offering humorous scenes reminiscent of Mel Brooks – such as the count’s repeated and futile attempts to commit suicide post-Elisabeta’s demise, as well as absurd moments that result after Dracula douses himself with a specific fragrance in historic Florence, that renders him unavoidably attractive to females. Absurd yet engaging.

Dracula is on digital platforms beginning on the first of December and in disc format from December 22nd. It screens in Australian cinemas from 5 February 2026.