Dracula Review – Besson’s Passionate Revamp of the Gothic Classic is Ridiculous but Watchable

It’s possible interest is limited for an updated adaptation of Dracula from Luc Besson, the filmmaker known for glossiness and bloat. However, it’s worth noting: his opulently crafted love story with vampires has ambition and panache – and with its B-movie charm, I might just favor over the recent, stately interpretation by Robert Eggers of Nosferatu. A few strange elements appear, including one shot that appears to show a land border between France and Romania.

The Veteran Actor as a Witty Yet Careworn Clergyman Hunting Vampires

Christoph Waltz plays a witty yet careworn man of the church pursuing the undead – it feels natural for him to tackle this role before – who finds himself in Paris in 1889 during the centennial of the French Revolution. The same goes for the sinister Dracula, brought to life by the body-horror veteran Caleb Landry Jones speaking in a twisted regional dialect similar to the voice of Gru by Steve Carell from the Despicable Me comedies. This is a part suits him perfectly.

The Story: A Chronicle of Longing

The story is this: the count has wandered endlessly the world in sorrow for 400 years following his rise as one of the undead, a punishment for his irreligious grief following the loss of his spouse Elisabeta (a movie debut role for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). the vampire has sought relentlessly for some woman who might be the return of his departed beloved. As ill fortune would have it, the chosen woman turns out to be Mina (portrayed once more by Bleu), the reserved future wife of Dracula’s feeble property handler, Jonathan Harker (played by Ewens Abid), who has recently been to Dracula’s fortress to review his real estate holdings and whose miniature portrait of the lovely Mina caught the count’s hooded eye.

Besson’s Handling and Humorous Style

Besson arranges Dracula’s flashback sequence of international journeys wearing flamboyant outfits confidently, and he willingly includes providing some comedy moments in the style of Mel Brooks – such as Dracula’s ongoing failed efforts to commit suicide after Elisabeta’s death, in addition to absurd moments that result after Dracula applies to himself using a particular scent during the 1700s in Florence, that renders him compelling to the opposite sex. Outlandish but entertaining.

Dracula is on digital platforms beginning on the first of December and for physical purchase starting the twenty-second of December. It screens in Australian cinemas from 5 February 2026.