Dracula Review – Besson’s Passionate Reimagining of the Timeless Gothic Tale is Absurd but Engaging

It’s possible there is no great enthusiasm for an updated adaptation of Dracula from Luc Besson, the filmmaker known for glossiness and bloat. Still, it has to be said: his richly designed vampire romance has ambition and panache – and amid its theatrical camp, it could be preferable over Eggers’s dignified recent take of Nosferatu. There are some very bizarre touches, such as a scene that seems to depict a territorial boundary between France and Romania.

Christoph Waltz as a Clever but Weary Priest Tracking the Undead

Christoph Waltz portrays a clever but beleaguered cleric fighting vampires – it’s surprising he never took on this character previously – who ends up in Paris in 1889 to mark the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. So does the sinister Dracula, brought to life by the body-horror veteran Caleb Landry Jones with a mangled central European accent reminiscent of the voice of Gru by Steve Carell in the Despicable Me films. It’s a role suits him perfectly.

The Story: A Chronicle of Longing

Here’s the premise: the count has been restlessly roaming the globe in torment for hundreds of years since he became undead, a penalty due to his blasphemous mourning after the passing of his wife, Elisabeta (a first film part for Zoë Bleu, Rosanna Arquette’s child). the vampire has been searching, searching, searching for a lady who could be the rebirth of his lost love. As ill fortune would have it, the chosen woman turns out to be Mina (portrayed once more by Bleu), the modest betrothed of the count’s timid estate manager, Jonathan Harker (Ewens Abid), who just traveled to the count’s castle to review his land assets and whose miniature portrait of the winsome Mina drew the vampire’s attention.

Besson’s Handling and Comic Flair

Besson organizes Dracula’s second-act backstory of international journeys wearing flamboyant outfits confidently, and he is not above offering funny bits with a distinctly Mel Brooks flavour – for example Dracula’s ongoing failed efforts to commit suicide following Elisabeta’s passing, in addition to farcical scenes that follow Dracula douses himself with a specific fragrance in historic Florence, that renders him compelling to the opposite sex. Outlandish but entertaining.

Dracula is available digitally beginning on the first of December and in disc format from 22 December. It will be shown in Australian cinemas starting February 5, 2026.