Dracula Review – The French Director’s Passionate Reinterpretation of the Timeless Gothic Tale is Ridiculous but Entertaining

Maybe interest is limited for an updated adaptation of Dracula from Luc Besson, the French maestro for stylish excess. And yet, it’s worth noting: his lavishly upholstered romantic vampire tale boasts bold vision and flair – and in all its Hammer-y cheesiness, I might just favor compared with Robert Eggers’s recent, solemnly classy version of Nosferatu. Odd details emerge, including one shot that appears to show a land border between France and Romania.

Christoph Waltz as a Humorously Exhausted Priest Tracking the Undead

Christoph Waltz plays a clever but beleaguered vampire-hunting priest – I can’t believe he hasn’t played this character previously – who arrives in Paris in 1889 during the centennial of the French Revolution. Likewise present is the evil Count Dracula, brought to life by the seasoned horror actor Caleb Landry Jones using a distorted Eastern European tone reminiscent of Carell’s Gru character of the Despicable Me series. This is a part he seemed destined to play.

The Story: A Tale of Love and Loss

Here’s the premise: the count has traveled ceaselessly the earth in torment for 400 years since he became undead, a punishment for his faithless sorrow over the death of his beloved Elisabeta (a first film part for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). the vampire has been searching, searching, searching for a lady who might be the return of his deceased partner. As ill fortune would have it, the fortunate female proves to be Mina (also Bleu, of course), the modest betrothed of Dracula’s feeble property handler, Jonathan Harker (enacted by Ewens Abid), who has recently been to the vampire’s estate to review his property portfolio and the tiny painting of the charming Mina drew the vampire’s attention.

The Filmmaker’s Approach and Humorous Style

Besson structures Dracula’s middle-section history of international journeys in various outrageous costumes confidently, and he doesn’t shy away from providing humorous scenes reminiscent of Mel Brooks – for example Dracula’s ongoing failed efforts to end his own life post-Elisabeta’s demise, along with farcical scenes that result after Dracula applies to himself in a certain perfume during the 1700s in Florence, which causes him to be compelling to the opposite sex. Absurd yet engaging.

Dracula is available digitally from 1 December and for physical purchase from December 22nd. It screens in Australian cinemas from 5 February 2026.