Dracula Review – Besson’s Passionate Reinterpretation of the Timeless Gothic Tale is Absurd but Watchable
Perhaps audiences aren’t clamoring for a new version of Dracula from Luc Besson, the filmmaker known for glossiness and bloat. And yet, one must admit: his opulently crafted romantic vampire tale displays creativity and style – and with its B-movie charm, I’m not sure I wouldn’t prefer to it to Robert Eggers’s recent, solemnly classy version of Nosferatu. Odd details emerge, like a particular moment that looks like it presents a land border between France and Romania.
The Veteran Actor as a Witty Yet Careworn Priest Tracking the Undead
Christoph Waltz embodies a witty yet careworn vampire-hunting priest – I can’t believe he hasn’t played such a part earlier – who ends up in Paris in 1889 to mark the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. So does the sinister Dracula, enacted by the expert in grotesque roles Caleb Landry Jones speaking in a twisted regional dialect reminiscent of Carell’s Gru character from the Despicable Me comedies. This is a part that he too was born to take on.
The Narrative: A Chronicle of Longing
The plot unfolds as follows: the vampire lord has traveled ceaselessly the globe in sorrow for hundreds of years following his rise as one of the 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 vampire has looked tirelessly for some woman who could be the rebirth of his lost love. By cruel fate, the lucky lady proves to be Mina (again played by Bleu), the modest betrothed of Dracula’s feeble property handler, Jonathan Harker (Ewens Abid), who has recently been to Dracula’s fortress to discuss his real estate holdings and the tiny painting of the charming Mina drew the vampire’s attention.
The Filmmaker’s Approach and Comic Flair
Besson structures Dracula’s flashback sequence of global roaming sporting extravagant attire skillfully, and he doesn’t shy away from providing humorous scenes reminiscent of Mel Brooks – such as Dracula’s ongoing failed efforts to commit suicide following Elisabeta’s passing, in addition to comical sequences that result after Dracula applies to himself in a certain perfume in historic Florence, which makes him compelling to the opposite sex. Ridiculous and watchable.
Dracula can be streamed online 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.
