Dracula Review – Luc Besson’s Love-Struck Reinterpretation of the Timeless Gothic Tale is Outlandish but Entertaining

Maybe audiences aren’t clamoring for a new version of Dracula from Luc Besson, the filmmaker known for polished extravagance. However, it has to be said: his lavishly upholstered 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. Odd details emerge, including one shot that seems to depict a territorial boundary between France and Romania.

The Veteran Actor as a Clever but Weary Vampire-Hunting Priest

Christoph Waltz portrays a witty yet careworn cleric fighting vampires – 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, enacted by the body-horror veteran Caleb Landry Jones speaking in a twisted regional dialect similar to Carell’s Gru character of the Despicable Me series. This is a part suits him perfectly.

The Narrative: A Tale of Love and Loss

Here’s the premise: the count has been restlessly roaming the world in torment for hundreds of years following his rise as one of the undead, a consequence for his irreligious grief over the death of his spouse Elisabeta (an inaugural screen appearance for Zoë Bleu, the offspring of Rosanna Arquette). The count has sought relentlessly for a lady who might be the reincarnation of his deceased partner. Unfortunately, the lucky lady turns out to be Mina (again played by Bleu), the modest betrothed of Dracula’s wimpish land agent, Jonathan Harker (played by Ewens Abid), who just traveled to Dracula’s fortress to review his real estate holdings and the tiny painting of the charming Mina attracted Dracula’s gaze.

Besson’s Direction and Comic Flair

Besson structures Dracula’s second-act backstory of international journeys sporting extravagant attire with a sure hand, and he willingly includes providing funny bits reminiscent of Mel Brooks – such as Dracula’s ongoing failed efforts to commit suicide post-Elisabeta’s demise, as well as absurd moments that follow Dracula sprays himself in a certain perfume in historic Florence, that renders him compelling to the opposite sex. Absurd yet engaging.

Dracula can be streamed online beginning on the first of December and in disc format from December 22nd. It will be shown in Australian cinemas from 5 February 2026.