Dracula Movie Critique – The French Director’s Love-Struck Reinterpretation of the Gothic Classic is Absurd but Entertaining

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 romantic vampire tale boasts bold vision and flair – and amid its theatrical camp, I might just favor to it to Robert Eggers’s recent, solemnly classy version of Nosferatu. There are some very bizarre touches, like a particular moment that looks like it presents a land border between France and Romania.

Waltz as a Witty Yet Careworn Clergyman Hunting Vampires

Christoph Waltz plays a humorous yet burdened man of the church pursuing the undead – it’s surprising he never took on this role before – who finds himself in Paris in 1889 during the centennial of the French Revolution. The same goes for the evil Count Dracula, played by the seasoned horror actor Caleb Landry Jones using a distorted Eastern European tone evoking Carell’s Gru character in the Despicable Me films. It’s a role he seemed destined to play.

The Plot: A Saga of Heartbreak

The plot unfolds as follows: the vampire lord has wandered endlessly the world in anguish for 400 years following his rise as one of the undead, a punishment for his irreligious grief following the loss of his spouse Elisabeta (a movie debut role for Zoë Bleu, the offspring of Rosanna Arquette). the vampire has been searching, searching, searching for some woman who would be the return of his departed beloved. Unfortunately, the fortunate female proves to be Mina (portrayed once more by Bleu), the demure fiancee of Dracula’s feeble property handler, Jonathan Harker (enacted by Ewens Abid), who just traveled to the count’s castle to negotiate his real estate holdings and the tiny painting of the lovely Mina caught the count’s hooded eye.

Besson’s Direction and Humorous Style

Besson organizes Dracula’s second-act backstory of worldwide travels sporting extravagant attire skillfully, and he is not above giving us humorous scenes reminiscent of Mel Brooks – like the count’s repeated and futile attempts to kill himself post-Elisabeta’s demise, along with farcical scenes that result after Dracula douses himself in a certain perfume in historic Florence, which makes him irresistible to women. Outlandish but entertaining.

Dracula is on digital platforms beginning on the first of December and in disc format from December 22nd. It plays in Australian cinemas starting February 5, 2026.