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

It’s possible audiences aren’t clamoring for a fresh take of Dracula from Luc Besson, the celebrated French director for stylish excess. However, one must admit: his richly designed romantic vampire tale has ambition and panache – and in all its Hammer-y cheesiness, I might just favor over Robert Eggers’s recent, solemnly classy version of Nosferatu. There are some very bizarre touches, including one shot that appears to show a geographic divide between France and Romania.

Waltz as a Witty Yet Careworn Priest Tracking the Undead

Christoph Waltz portrays a humorous yet burdened man of the church pursuing the undead – I can’t believe he hasn’t played this role before – who ends up in Paris in 1889 during the centennial of the French Revolution. The same goes for the evil Count Dracula, brought to life by the seasoned horror actor Caleb Landry Jones with a mangled central European accent evoking Carell’s Gru character of the Despicable Me series. This character suits him perfectly.

The Narrative: A Saga of Heartbreak

The plot unfolds as follows: the count has wandered endlessly the globe in torment over four centuries after his transformation into a vampire, a consequence for his irreligious grief following the loss of his beloved Elisabeta (a movie debut role for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). The count has been searching, searching, searching for a female who might be the rebirth of his lost love. By cruel fate, the fortunate female is revealed as Mina (portrayed once more by Bleu), the demure fiancee of Dracula’s wimpish land agent, Jonathan Harker (Ewens Abid), who has recently been to the count’s castle to negotiate his land assets and the tiny painting of the winsome Mina attracted Dracula’s gaze.

Besson’s Direction and Humorous Style

Besson arranges Dracula’s second-act backstory of worldwide travels sporting extravagant attire with a sure hand, and he is not above providing humorous scenes reminiscent of Mel Brooks – such as the count’s repeated and futile attempts to end his own life after Elisabeta’s death, in addition to absurd moments that result after Dracula sprays himself in a certain perfume in 18th-century Florence, which causes him to be compelling to the opposite sex. Absurd yet engaging.

Dracula is available digitally beginning on the first of December and on DVD and Blu-ray from 22 December. It plays in Australian cinemas from 5 February 2026.