Dracula Review – The French Director’s Passionate Reinterpretation of the Gothic Classic is Ridiculous but Watchable

Maybe interest is limited for a fresh take of Dracula from Luc Besson, the celebrated French director for stylish excess. Still, it has to be said: his richly designed romantic vampire tale has ambition and panache – and with its B-movie charm, I’m not sure I wouldn’t prefer to it to Eggers’s dignified recent take of Nosferatu. Odd details emerge, including one shot that appears to show a land border between France and Romania.

The Veteran Actor as a Witty Yet Careworn Vampire-Hunting Priest

Christoph Waltz portrays a clever but beleaguered vampire-hunting priest – it feels natural for him to tackle such a part earlier – who finds himself in Paris in 1889 to mark the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. The same goes for the malevolent vampire count, played by the seasoned horror actor Caleb Landry Jones using a distorted Eastern European tone reminiscent of Carell’s Gru character in the Despicable Me films. This character that he too was born to take on.

The Story: A Saga of Heartbreak

The story is this: the count has been restlessly roaming the globe in sorrow for 400 years since he became undead, a penalty for his irreligious grief after the passing of his wife, Elisabeta (a movie debut role for Zoë Bleu, Rosanna Arquette’s child). The count has looked tirelessly for some woman who could be the rebirth of his deceased partner. As ill fortune would have it, the lucky lady proves to be Mina (again played by Bleu), the modest betrothed of the count’s timid estate manager, Jonathan Harker (played by Ewens Abid), who has recently been to the count’s castle to negotiate his property portfolio and the small picture of the lovely Mina drew the vampire’s attention.

The Filmmaker’s Approach and Comic Flair

Besson organizes Dracula’s flashback sequence of worldwide travels in various outrageous costumes confidently, and he willingly includes giving us some comedy moments with a distinctly Mel Brooks flavour – for example the vampire’s constant unsuccessful tries to commit suicide after Elisabeta’s death, in addition to absurd moments that occur when Dracula douses himself in a certain perfume during the 1700s in Florence, which causes him to be irresistible to women. Ridiculous and watchable.

Dracula is on digital platforms beginning on the first of December and for physical purchase from December 22nd. It plays in Australian cinemas beginning on the fifth of February, 2026.