Dracula Review – The French Director’s Love-Struck Revamp of the Gothic Classic is Ridiculous but Engaging

Maybe interest is limited for a new version of Dracula from Luc Besson, the filmmaker known for polished extravagance. Still, it’s worth noting: his lavishly upholstered love story with vampires boasts bold vision and flair – and amid its theatrical camp, it could be preferable to it to Eggers’s dignified recent take of Nosferatu. A few strange elements appear, including one shot that looks like it presents a geographic divide between France and Romania.

Christoph Waltz as a Clever but Weary Clergyman Hunting Vampires

Christoph Waltz plays a clever but beleaguered man of the church pursuing the undead – it feels natural for him to tackle this role before – who ends up in Paris in 1889 for the French Revolution centenary celebrations. So does the malevolent vampire count, enacted by the seasoned horror actor Caleb Landry Jones using a distorted Eastern European tone evoking Carell’s Gru character in the Despicable Me films. This character suits him perfectly.

The Plot: A Chronicle of Longing

Here’s the premise: the count has been restlessly roaming the world in anguish for 400 years following his rise as one of the undead, a penalty for his irreligious grief over the death of his beloved Elisabeta (a first film part for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). Dracula has looked tirelessly for a lady who would be the reincarnation of his deceased partner. Unfortunately, the chosen woman is revealed as Mina (portrayed once more by Bleu), the demure fiancee of the count’s timid estate manager, Jonathan Harker (Ewens Abid), who has recently been to Dracula’s fortress to negotiate his property portfolio and the small picture of the lovely Mina drew the vampire’s attention.

The Filmmaker’s Approach and Lighthearted Touch

Besson structures Dracula’s middle-section history of worldwide travels in various outrageous costumes with a sure hand, and he is not above providing humorous scenes reminiscent of Mel Brooks – for example Dracula’s ongoing failed efforts to commit suicide post-Elisabeta’s demise, along with farcical scenes that result after Dracula douses himself using a particular scent in historic Florence, which makes him compelling to the opposite sex. Absurd yet engaging.

Dracula can be streamed online starting December 1st and on DVD and Blu-ray from December 22nd. It will be shown in Australian cinemas from 5 February 2026.