Dracula Review – Besson’s Love-Struck Reimagining of the Timeless Gothic Tale is Ridiculous but Entertaining

Perhaps interest is limited for a new version of Dracula from Luc Besson, the French maestro for glossiness and bloat. Still, one must admit: his richly designed vampire romance boasts bold vision and flair – and amid its theatrical camp, I might just favor to it to the recent, stately interpretation by Robert Eggers of Nosferatu. Odd details emerge, such as a scene that seems to depict a geographic divide between France and Romania.

Waltz as a Witty Yet Careworn Clergyman Hunting Vampires

Christoph Waltz portrays a humorous yet burdened vampire-hunting priest – it feels natural for him to tackle such a part earlier – who arrives in Paris in 1889 during the centennial of the French Revolution. So does the evil Count Dracula, played by the seasoned horror actor Caleb Landry Jones with a mangled central European accent reminiscent of the voice of Gru by Steve Carell of the Despicable Me series. This character suits him perfectly.

The Narrative: A Chronicle of Longing

Here’s the premise: Dracula has traveled ceaselessly the globe in anguish for hundreds of years since he became undead, a penalty for his irreligious grief after the passing of his beloved Elisabeta (a movie debut role for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). The count has sought relentlessly for a lady who would be the reincarnation of his lost love. As ill fortune would have it, the chosen woman is revealed as Mina (again played by Bleu), the reserved future wife of the count’s timid estate manager, Jonathan Harker (played by Ewens Abid), who just traveled to Dracula’s fortress to review his land assets and the tiny painting of the charming Mina caught the count’s hooded eye.

Besson’s Direction and Humorous Style

Besson arranges Dracula’s flashback sequence of global roaming wearing flamboyant outfits confidently, and he is not above offering funny bits with a distinctly Mel Brooks flavour – for example the vampire’s constant unsuccessful tries to end his own life following Elisabeta’s passing, in addition to comical sequences that result after Dracula applies to himself with a specific fragrance during the 1700s in Florence, which makes him compelling to the opposite sex. Outlandish but entertaining.

Dracula can be streamed online from 1 December and in disc format starting the twenty-second of December. It plays in Australian cinemas starting February 5, 2026.