Dracula Movie Critique – Luc Besson’s Passionate Reimagining of the Timeless Gothic Tale is Outlandish but Engaging
It’s possible interest is limited for an updated adaptation of Dracula from Luc Besson, the celebrated French director for glossiness and bloat. However, one must admit: his opulently crafted romantic vampire tale displays creativity and style – 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, such as a scene that looks like it presents a territorial boundary between France and Romania.
Waltz as a Clever but Weary Clergyman Hunting Vampires
Christoph Waltz plays a witty yet careworn vampire-hunting priest – it feels natural for him to tackle this role before – who finds himself in Paris in 1889 during the centennial of the French Revolution. Likewise present is the malevolent vampire count, played by the body-horror veteran Caleb Landry Jones using a distorted Eastern European tone evoking the voice of Gru by Steve Carell in the Despicable Me films. It’s a role suits him perfectly.
The Plot: A Chronicle of Longing
Here’s the premise: the count has wandered endlessly the globe in torment for hundreds of years after his transformation into a vampire, a penalty for his faithless sorrow after the passing of his beloved Elisabeta (a first film part for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). The count has sought relentlessly for a lady who would be the rebirth of his departed beloved. By cruel fate, the fortunate female is revealed as Mina (also Bleu, of course), the modest betrothed of Dracula’s wimpish land agent, Jonathan Harker (enacted by Ewens Abid), who just traveled to Dracula’s fortress to discuss his land assets and whose miniature portrait of the lovely Mina drew the vampire’s attention.
The Filmmaker’s Approach and Lighthearted Touch
Besson organizes Dracula’s second-act backstory of international journeys sporting extravagant attire confidently, and he willingly includes giving us funny bits in the style of Mel Brooks – for example the count’s repeated and futile attempts to end his own life after Elisabeta’s death, in addition to absurd moments that follow Dracula douses himself in a certain perfume during the 1700s in Florence, that renders him unavoidably attractive to females. Ridiculous and watchable.
Dracula can be streamed online beginning on the first of December and on DVD and Blu-ray from 22 December. It will be shown in Australian cinemas from 5 February 2026.
