Dracula Movie Critique – Luc Besson’s Romantic Revamp of the Classic Horror Story is Outlandish but Watchable

Perhaps interest is limited for a fresh take of Dracula from Luc Besson, the filmmaker known for stylish excess. However, one must admit: his lavishly upholstered love story with vampires boasts bold vision and flair – and in all its Hammer-y cheesiness, I might just favor over Robert Eggers’s recent, solemnly classy version of Nosferatu. A few strange elements appear, including one shot that looks like it presents a territorial boundary between France and Romania.

Waltz as a Humorously Exhausted Clergyman Hunting Vampires

Christoph Waltz portrays a clever but beleaguered cleric fighting vampires – it feels natural for him to tackle this role before – who ends up in Paris in 1889 during the centennial of the French Revolution. Likewise present is the sinister Dracula, enacted by the expert in grotesque roles Caleb Landry Jones using a distorted Eastern European tone evoking Carell’s Gru character of the Despicable Me series. This is a part that he too was born to take on.

The Narrative: A Saga of Heartbreak

Here’s the premise: the vampire lord has been restlessly roaming the globe in anguish for hundreds of years since he became undead, a punishment for his irreligious grief following the loss of his spouse Elisabeta (a first film part for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). Dracula has been searching, searching, searching for some woman who would be the rebirth of his deceased partner. Unfortunately, the lucky lady turns out to be Mina (again played by Bleu), the modest betrothed of Dracula’s feeble property handler, Jonathan Harker (played by Ewens Abid), who just traveled to the count’s castle to discuss his property portfolio and the tiny painting of the charming Mina drew the vampire’s attention.

Besson’s Direction and Comic Flair

Besson structures Dracula’s flashback sequence of worldwide travels in various outrageous costumes confidently, and he is not above providing funny bits in the style of Mel Brooks – like the count’s repeated and futile attempts to commit suicide after Elisabeta’s death, along with farcical scenes that occur when Dracula applies to himself using a particular scent during the 1700s in Florence, which makes him compelling to the opposite sex. Ridiculous and watchable.

Dracula is on digital platforms beginning on the first of December and for physical purchase from 22 December. It will be shown in Australian cinemas from 5 February 2026.