Dracula Review – The French Director’s Passionate Revamp of the Timeless Gothic Tale is Ridiculous but Engaging
It’s possible there is no great enthusiasm for an updated adaptation of Dracula from Luc Besson, the French maestro for glossiness and bloat. Still, one must admit: his opulently crafted romantic vampire tale boasts bold vision and flair – and amid its theatrical camp, I might just favor compared with Eggers’s dignified recent take of Nosferatu. Odd details emerge, such as a scene that appears to show a land border between France and Romania.
Waltz as a Clever but Weary Priest Tracking the Undead
Christoph Waltz plays a witty yet careworn vampire-hunting priest – it feels natural for him to tackle this character previously – who arrives in Paris in 1889 to mark the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. Likewise present is the evil Count Dracula, brought to life by the body-horror veteran Caleb Landry Jones with a mangled central European accent reminiscent of Steve Carell’s Gru in the Despicable Me films. This is a part suits him perfectly.
The Story: A Saga of Heartbreak
The story is this: the vampire lord has traveled ceaselessly the globe in anguish over four centuries after his transformation into a vampire, a punishment for his irreligious grief over the death of his wife, Elisabeta (a first film part for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). Dracula has looked tirelessly for a female who would be the return of his lost love. As ill fortune would have it, the lucky lady is revealed as Mina (again played by Bleu), the modest betrothed of Dracula’s feeble property handler, Jonathan Harker (Ewens Abid), who lately visited to the count’s castle to discuss his land assets and whose miniature portrait of the winsome Mina drew the vampire’s attention.
Besson’s Direction and Comic Flair
Besson organizes Dracula’s flashback sequence of international journeys sporting extravagant attire with a sure hand, and he doesn’t shy away from providing some comedy moments in the style of Mel Brooks – like the count’s repeated and futile attempts to kill himself after Elisabeta’s death, in addition to absurd moments that follow Dracula applies to himself with a specific fragrance in historic Florence, which causes him to be unavoidably attractive to females. Ridiculous and watchable.
Dracula can be streamed online starting December 1st and in disc format from December 22nd. It plays in Australian cinemas starting February 5, 2026.