Dracula Review – Besson’s Romantic Reimagining of the Classic Horror Story is Outlandish but Engaging

Perhaps there is no great enthusiasm for an updated adaptation of Dracula from Luc Besson, the filmmaker known for stylish excess. However, it has to be said: his lavishly upholstered vampire romance boasts bold vision and flair – and in all its Hammer-y cheesiness, it could be preferable over the recent, stately interpretation by Robert Eggers of Nosferatu. A few strange elements appear, such as a scene that appears to show a territorial boundary between France and Romania.

Christoph Waltz as a Humorously Exhausted Vampire-Hunting Priest

Christoph Waltz portrays a clever but beleaguered man of the church pursuing the undead – it feels natural for him to tackle such a part earlier – who ends up in Paris in 1889 for the French Revolution centenary celebrations. So does the evil Count Dracula, played by the expert in grotesque roles Caleb Landry Jones using a distorted Eastern European tone evoking the voice of Gru by Steve Carell from the Despicable Me comedies. It’s a role that he too was born to take on.

The Plot: A Saga of Heartbreak

Here’s the premise: Dracula has traveled ceaselessly the globe in anguish over four centuries following his rise as one of the undead, a consequence for his irreligious grief over the death of his wife, Elisabeta (an inaugural screen appearance for Zoë Bleu, the offspring of Rosanna Arquette). Dracula has been searching, searching, searching for a female who might be the reincarnation of his departed beloved. As ill fortune would have it, the chosen woman turns out to be Mina (again played by Bleu), the demure fiancee of Dracula’s feeble property handler, Jonathan Harker (played by Ewens Abid), who has recently been to Dracula’s fortress to review his land assets and the small picture of the winsome Mina drew the vampire’s attention.

Besson’s Direction and Humorous Style

Besson arranges Dracula’s flashback sequence of worldwide travels in various outrageous costumes skillfully, and he willingly includes providing funny bits with a distinctly Mel Brooks flavour – such as Dracula’s ongoing failed efforts to end his own life post-Elisabeta’s demise, as well as comical sequences that follow Dracula douses himself in a certain perfume in historic Florence, which causes him to be unavoidably attractive to females. Outlandish but entertaining.

Dracula is available digitally beginning on the first of December and in disc format from 22 December. It will be shown in Australian cinemas starting February 5, 2026.