Dracula Movie Critique – Besson’s Romantic Reinterpretation of the Classic Horror Story is Ridiculous but Watchable
It’s possible audiences aren’t clamoring for a new version of Dracula from Luc Besson, the French maestro for stylish excess. And yet, it has to be said: his richly designed love story with vampires boasts bold vision and flair – and in all its Hammer-y cheesiness, it could be preferable to it to the recent, stately interpretation by Robert Eggers of Nosferatu. There are some very bizarre touches, like a particular moment that looks like it presents a territorial boundary between France and Romania.
Christoph Waltz as a Clever but Weary Vampire-Hunting Priest
Christoph Waltz portrays a clever but beleaguered cleric fighting vampires – it feels natural for him to tackle this role before – who ends up in Paris in 1889 to mark the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. So does the evil Count Dracula, brought to life by the seasoned horror actor Caleb Landry Jones speaking in a twisted regional dialect reminiscent of Carell’s Gru character of the Despicable Me series. This character suits him perfectly.
The Story: A Chronicle of Longing
The story is this: Dracula has been restlessly roaming the earth in sorrow over four centuries since he became undead, a punishment for his faithless sorrow following the loss of his spouse Elisabeta (a first film part for Zoë Bleu, Rosanna Arquette’s child). the vampire has looked tirelessly for some woman who might be the rebirth of his departed beloved. As ill fortune would have it, the lucky lady turns out to be Mina (also Bleu, of course), the modest betrothed of the count’s timid estate manager, Jonathan Harker (enacted by Ewens Abid), who just traveled to the vampire’s estate to discuss his real estate holdings and the tiny painting of the lovely Mina attracted Dracula’s gaze.
Besson’s Handling and Lighthearted Touch
Besson arranges Dracula’s middle-section history of international journeys in various outrageous costumes confidently, and he doesn’t shy away from giving us funny bits in the style of Mel Brooks – such as Dracula’s ongoing failed efforts to commit suicide following Elisabeta’s passing, as well as comical sequences that result after Dracula douses himself with a specific fragrance in 18th-century Florence, which makes him unavoidably attractive to females. Ridiculous and watchable.
Dracula can be streamed online from 1 December and on DVD and Blu-ray from 22 December. It plays in Australian cinemas beginning on the fifth of February, 2026.