Dracula Review – Luc Besson’s Passionate Revamp of the Gothic Classic is Outlandish but Engaging

Maybe interest is limited for a fresh take of Dracula from Luc Besson, the filmmaker known for stylish excess. And yet, it has to be said: his richly designed romantic vampire tale has ambition and panache – and in all its Hammer-y cheesiness, it could be preferable over the recent, stately interpretation by Robert Eggers of Nosferatu. There are some very bizarre touches, including one shot that seems to depict a geographic divide between France and Romania.

The Veteran Actor as a Clever but Weary Clergyman Hunting Vampires

Christoph Waltz embodies a clever but beleaguered man of the church pursuing the undead – it’s surprising he never took on such a part earlier – who ends up in Paris in 1889 for the French Revolution centenary celebrations. Likewise present is the sinister Dracula, enacted by the seasoned horror actor Caleb Landry Jones with a mangled central European accent evoking Carell’s Gru character of the Despicable Me series. This character suits him perfectly.

The Story: A Chronicle of Longing

The story is this: the count has traveled ceaselessly the globe in anguish for hundreds of years after his transformation into a vampire, a penalty due to his blasphemous mourning after the passing of his beloved Elisabeta (an inaugural screen appearance for Zoë Bleu, Rosanna Arquette’s child). the vampire has looked tirelessly for some woman who would be the return of his deceased partner. As ill fortune would have it, the chosen woman is revealed as Mina (portrayed once more by Bleu), the modest betrothed of Dracula’s feeble property handler, Jonathan Harker (played by Ewens Abid), who just traveled to the count’s castle to discuss his property portfolio and the tiny painting of the charming Mina drew the vampire’s attention.

Besson’s Handling and Humorous Style

Besson organizes Dracula’s second-act backstory of global roaming sporting extravagant attire confidently, and he is not above offering some comedy moments reminiscent of Mel Brooks – for example the count’s repeated and futile attempts to commit suicide after Elisabeta’s death, as well as comical sequences that result after Dracula sprays himself with a specific fragrance in 18th-century Florence, which causes him to be compelling to the opposite sex. Ridiculous and watchable.

Dracula can be streamed online starting December 1st and for physical purchase from 22 December. It plays in Australian cinemas starting February 5, 2026.