Dracula Review – The French Director’s Romantic Reinterpretation of the Gothic Classic is Outlandish but Entertaining

Maybe there is no great enthusiasm for a new version of Dracula from Luc Besson, the filmmaker known for polished extravagance. However, it has to be said: his richly designed romantic vampire tale boasts bold vision and flair – and amid its theatrical camp, I might just favor to it to the recent, stately interpretation by Robert Eggers of Nosferatu. There are some very bizarre touches, such as a scene that appears to show a territorial boundary between France and Romania.

Waltz as a Humorously Exhausted Priest Tracking the Undead

Christoph Waltz embodies a humorous yet burdened man of the church pursuing the undead – I can’t believe he hasn’t played this role before – who arrives in Paris in 1889 to mark the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. So does the evil Count Dracula, brought to life by the body-horror veteran Caleb Landry Jones with a mangled central European accent evoking Carell’s Gru character in the Despicable Me films. It’s a role that he too was born to take on.

The Narrative: A Saga of Heartbreak

The plot unfolds as follows: the count has traveled ceaselessly the earth in torment for hundreds of years following his rise as one of the undead, a penalty for his irreligious grief following the loss of his spouse Elisabeta (an inaugural screen appearance for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). Dracula has been searching, searching, searching for some woman who would be the reincarnation of his lost love. As ill fortune would have it, the fortunate female turns out to be Mina (also Bleu, of course), the demure fiancee of Dracula’s feeble property handler, Jonathan Harker (played by Ewens Abid), who has recently been to the vampire’s estate to review his property portfolio and the small picture of the winsome Mina caught the count’s hooded eye.

Besson’s Handling and Comic Flair

Besson structures Dracula’s second-act backstory of global roaming sporting extravagant attire confidently, and he doesn’t shy away from offering humorous scenes with a distinctly Mel Brooks flavour – such as the count’s repeated and futile attempts to kill himself post-Elisabeta’s demise, as well as absurd moments that result after Dracula applies to himself using a particular scent during the 1700s in Florence, which causes him to be unavoidably attractive to females. Outlandish but entertaining.

Dracula is on digital platforms from 1 December and for physical purchase starting the twenty-second of December. It will be shown in Australian cinemas starting February 5, 2026.