Dracula Review – Besson’s Romantic Reinterpretation of the Classic Horror Story is Outlandish but Entertaining

Maybe interest is limited for a new version of Dracula from Luc Besson, the filmmaker known for polished extravagance. However, it’s worth noting: his lavishly upholstered love story with vampires has ambition and panache – and amid its theatrical camp, I’m not sure I wouldn’t prefer compared with Robert Eggers’s recent, solemnly classy version of Nosferatu. A few strange elements appear, like a particular moment that seems to depict a land border between France and Romania.

Waltz as a Witty Yet Careworn Clergyman Hunting Vampires

Christoph Waltz portrays a clever but beleaguered cleric fighting vampires – it’s surprising he never took on this character previously – who finds himself in Paris in 1889 during the centennial of the French Revolution. Likewise present is the evil Count Dracula, brought to life by the body-horror veteran Caleb Landry Jones using a distorted Eastern European tone similar to the voice of Gru by Steve Carell from the Despicable Me comedies. This is a part he seemed destined to play.

The Story: A Chronicle of Longing

The plot unfolds as follows: the count has wandered endlessly the world in torment for hundreds of years after his transformation into a vampire, a punishment for his faithless sorrow over the death of his wife, Elisabeta (a first film part for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). Dracula has sought relentlessly for a lady who might be the rebirth of his departed beloved. By cruel fate, the fortunate female turns out to be Mina (portrayed once more by Bleu), the reserved future wife of Dracula’s feeble property handler, Jonathan Harker (enacted by Ewens Abid), who has recently been to Dracula’s fortress to review his real estate holdings and the small picture of the lovely Mina caught the count’s hooded eye.

The Filmmaker’s Approach and Lighthearted Touch

Besson structures Dracula’s second-act backstory of global roaming in various outrageous costumes with a sure hand, and he willingly includes providing some comedy moments reminiscent of Mel Brooks – like the count’s repeated and futile attempts to commit suicide following Elisabeta’s passing, as well as farcical scenes that result after Dracula applies to himself with a specific fragrance in 18th-century Florence, that renders him compelling to the opposite sex. Absurd yet engaging.

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