Dracula Review – Luc Besson’s Romantic Reimagining of the Gothic Classic is Outlandish but Watchable

It’s possible audiences aren’t clamoring for a fresh take of Dracula from Luc Besson, the filmmaker known for stylish excess. And yet, it’s worth noting: his opulently crafted vampire romance boasts bold vision and flair – and in all its Hammer-y cheesiness, I might just favor to it to the recent, stately interpretation by Robert Eggers of Nosferatu. A few strange elements appear, like a particular moment that seems to depict a territorial boundary between France and Romania.

Christoph Waltz 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 this role before – who ends up in Paris in 1889 during the centennial of the French Revolution. The same goes for the sinister Dracula, brought to life by the seasoned horror actor Caleb Landry Jones speaking in a twisted regional dialect evoking Carell’s Gru character from the Despicable Me comedies. This character he seemed destined to play.

The Story: A Chronicle of Longing

The plot unfolds as follows: Dracula has been restlessly roaming the globe in torment over four centuries after his transformation into a vampire, a penalty for his irreligious grief after the passing of his wife, Elisabeta (a movie debut role for Zoë Bleu, Rosanna Arquette’s child). Dracula has been searching, searching, searching for a female who could be the rebirth of his departed beloved. By cruel fate, the chosen woman turns out to be Mina (again played by Bleu), the modest betrothed of Dracula’s wimpish land agent, Jonathan Harker (enacted by Ewens Abid), who has recently been to the count’s castle to discuss his real estate holdings and the tiny painting of the winsome Mina attracted Dracula’s gaze.

Besson’s Handling and Humorous Style

Besson organizes Dracula’s flashback sequence of global roaming in various outrageous costumes with a sure hand, and he doesn’t shy away from giving us humorous scenes with a distinctly Mel Brooks flavour – such as the vampire’s constant unsuccessful tries to commit suicide after Elisabeta’s death, in addition to farcical scenes that result after Dracula sprays himself with a specific fragrance during the 1700s in Florence, that renders 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 will be shown in Australian cinemas beginning on the fifth of February, 2026.