Dracula Movie Critique – Luc Besson’s Romantic Revamp of the Classic Horror Story is Ridiculous but Watchable
Perhaps interest is limited for a new version of Dracula from Luc Besson, the French maestro for polished extravagance. However, it’s worth noting: his lavishly upholstered romantic vampire tale boasts bold vision and flair – and amid its theatrical camp, I might just favor compared with Eggers’s dignified recent take of Nosferatu. There are some very bizarre touches, including one shot that looks like it presents a territorial boundary between France and Romania.
The Veteran Actor as a Witty Yet Careworn Clergyman Hunting Vampires
Christoph Waltz portrays a humorous yet burdened 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 during the centennial of the French Revolution. So does the evil Count Dracula, played by the seasoned horror actor Caleb Landry Jones with a mangled central European accent similar to the voice of Gru by Steve Carell in the Despicable Me films. It’s a role suits him perfectly.
The Narrative: A Saga of Heartbreak
The story is this: the vampire lord has been restlessly roaming the earth in torment over four centuries since he became undead, a penalty for his irreligious grief over the death of his spouse Elisabeta (a first film part for Zoë Bleu, the offspring of Rosanna Arquette). The count has been searching, searching, searching for a female who might be the return of his departed beloved. Unfortunately, the lucky lady turns out to be Mina (also Bleu, of course), the modest betrothed of Dracula’s feeble property handler, Jonathan Harker (played by Ewens Abid), who has recently been to the vampire’s estate to discuss his property portfolio and whose miniature portrait of the lovely Mina caught the count’s hooded eye.
The Filmmaker’s Approach and Comic Flair
Besson structures Dracula’s second-act backstory of international journeys wearing flamboyant outfits skillfully, and he willingly includes giving us funny bits reminiscent of Mel Brooks – for example Dracula’s ongoing failed efforts to end his own life post-Elisabeta’s demise, along with absurd moments that occur when Dracula douses himself in a certain perfume in 18th-century Florence, which makes him compelling to the opposite sex. Ridiculous and watchable.
Dracula is available digitally from 1 December and on DVD and Blu-ray starting the twenty-second of December. It plays in Australian cinemas beginning on the fifth of February, 2026.
