Dracula Review – Luc Besson’s Love-Struck Reinterpretation of the Timeless Gothic Tale is Ridiculous but Engaging

It’s possible audiences aren’t clamoring for a fresh take of Dracula from Luc Besson, the celebrated French director for stylish excess. However, it has to be said: his richly designed vampire romance boasts bold vision and flair – and amid its theatrical camp, I’m not sure I wouldn’t prefer over Robert Eggers’s recent, solemnly classy version of Nosferatu. Odd details emerge, such as a scene that seems to depict a geographic divide between France and Romania.

Waltz as a Clever but Weary Clergyman Hunting Vampires

Christoph Waltz embodies a humorous yet burdened man of the church pursuing the undead – I can’t believe he hasn’t played this character previously – who finds himself in Paris in 1889 to mark the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. Likewise present is the evil Count Dracula, played by the seasoned horror actor Caleb Landry Jones with a mangled central European accent evoking Carell’s Gru character of the Despicable Me series. It’s a role he seemed destined to play.

The Story: A Saga of Heartbreak

The plot unfolds as follows: the count has wandered endlessly the world in anguish for hundreds of years since he became undead, a punishment for his irreligious grief following the loss of his wife, Elisabeta (a first film part for Zoë Bleu, the offspring of Rosanna Arquette). The count has looked tirelessly for some woman who might be the rebirth of his departed beloved. As ill fortune would have it, the lucky lady proves to be Mina (again played by Bleu), the demure fiancee of Dracula’s feeble property handler, Jonathan Harker (Ewens Abid), who lately visited to the vampire’s estate to negotiate his land assets and the tiny painting of the lovely Mina caught the count’s hooded eye.

Besson’s Direction and Lighthearted Touch

Besson arranges Dracula’s flashback sequence of worldwide travels in various outrageous costumes confidently, and he doesn’t shy away from offering some comedy moments with a distinctly Mel Brooks flavour – for example the count’s repeated and futile attempts to kill himself following Elisabeta’s passing, along with absurd moments that occur when Dracula applies to himself using a particular scent during the 1700s in Florence, which makes him compelling to the opposite sex. Outlandish but entertaining.

Dracula can be streamed online starting December 1st and in disc format from 22 December. It screens in Australian cinemas beginning on the fifth of February, 2026.