Dracula Movie Critique – The French Director’s Love-Struck Revamp of the Classic Horror Story is Outlandish but Entertaining

Perhaps interest is limited for a fresh take of Dracula from Luc Besson, the French maestro for polished extravagance. Still, it has to be said: his opulently crafted romantic vampire tale has ambition and panache – and with its B-movie charm, it could be preferable compared with the recent, stately interpretation by Robert Eggers of Nosferatu. Odd details emerge, like a particular moment that seems to depict a land border between France and Romania.

Christoph Waltz as a Humorously Exhausted Vampire-Hunting Priest

Christoph Waltz embodies a clever but beleaguered man of the church pursuing the undead – it feels natural for him to tackle this character previously – who finds himself in Paris in 1889 during the centennial of the French Revolution. The same goes for the malevolent vampire count, enacted by the seasoned horror actor Caleb Landry Jones with a mangled central European accent evoking Steve Carell’s Gru of the Despicable Me series. It’s a role he seemed destined to play.

The Plot: A Tale of Love and Loss

The story is this: the count has wandered endlessly the globe in torment over four centuries since he became undead, a penalty due to his blasphemous mourning over the death of his wife, Elisabeta (a movie debut role for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). Dracula has looked tirelessly for a lady who might be the rebirth of his deceased partner. Unfortunately, the chosen woman proves to be Mina (also Bleu, of course), the demure fiancee of the count’s timid estate manager, Jonathan Harker (Ewens Abid), who lately visited to Dracula’s fortress to discuss his real estate holdings and the tiny painting of the lovely Mina caught the count’s hooded eye.

Besson’s Handling and Comic Flair

Besson arranges Dracula’s flashback sequence of worldwide travels sporting extravagant attire confidently, and he doesn’t shy away from providing some comedy moments reminiscent of Mel Brooks – such as Dracula’s ongoing failed efforts to end his own life post-Elisabeta’s demise, as well as comical sequences that result after Dracula applies to himself with a specific fragrance during the 1700s in Florence, which causes him to be unavoidably attractive to females. Absurd yet engaging.

Dracula can be streamed online beginning on the first of December and on DVD and Blu-ray from 22 December. It screens in Australian cinemas from 5 February 2026.