Dracula Review – The French Director’s Romantic Reimagining of the Gothic Classic is Outlandish but Engaging

Perhaps audiences aren’t clamoring for a new version of Dracula from Luc Besson, the celebrated French director for stylish excess. Still, it has to be said: his richly designed romantic vampire tale boasts bold vision and flair – and with its B-movie charm, I’m not sure I wouldn’t prefer compared with Robert Eggers’s recent, solemnly classy version of Nosferatu. Odd details emerge, including one shot that seems to depict a territorial boundary between France and Romania.

The Veteran Actor as a Witty Yet Careworn Clergyman Hunting Vampires

Christoph Waltz portrays a witty yet careworn cleric fighting vampires – it feels natural for him to tackle such a part earlier – who arrives in Paris in 1889 to mark the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. The same goes for the sinister Dracula, enacted by the expert in grotesque roles Caleb Landry Jones speaking in a twisted regional dialect reminiscent of Steve Carell’s Gru of the Despicable Me series. It’s a role suits him perfectly.

The Plot: A Tale of Love and Loss

The plot unfolds as follows: the count has traveled ceaselessly the earth in torment over four centuries after his transformation into a vampire, a penalty for his faithless sorrow following the loss of his spouse Elisabeta (a first film part for Zoë Bleu, the offspring of Rosanna Arquette). the vampire has sought relentlessly for a female who could be the rebirth of his departed beloved. As ill fortune would have it, the fortunate female turns out to be Mina (also Bleu, of course), the reserved future wife of the count’s timid estate manager, Jonathan Harker (Ewens Abid), who lately visited to Dracula’s fortress to review his property portfolio and the small picture of the charming Mina attracted Dracula’s gaze.

The Filmmaker’s Approach and Humorous Style

Besson organizes Dracula’s flashback sequence of global roaming in various outrageous costumes with a sure hand, and he willingly includes offering some comedy moments in the style of Mel Brooks – such as the vampire’s constant unsuccessful tries to kill himself post-Elisabeta’s demise, as well as farcical scenes that follow Dracula applies to himself in a certain perfume in 18th-century Florence, that renders him irresistible to women. Outlandish but entertaining.

Dracula is on digital platforms starting December 1st and in disc format from December 22nd. It will be shown in Australian cinemas starting February 5, 2026.