Dracula Movie Critique – Besson’s Love-Struck Reimagining of the Gothic Classic is Outlandish but Entertaining

Maybe there is no great enthusiasm for a fresh take of Dracula from Luc Besson, the filmmaker known for glossiness and bloat. And yet, it’s worth noting: his lavishly upholstered romantic vampire tale boasts bold vision and flair – and with its B-movie charm, I’m not sure I wouldn’t prefer over the recent, stately interpretation by Robert Eggers of Nosferatu. Odd details emerge, like a particular moment that seems to depict a land border between France and Romania.

Waltz as a Humorously Exhausted Priest Tracking the Undead

Christoph Waltz plays a clever but beleaguered cleric fighting vampires – I can’t believe he hasn’t played such a part earlier – who finds himself in Paris in 1889 to mark the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. So does the malevolent vampire count, enacted by the body-horror veteran Caleb Landry Jones speaking in a twisted regional dialect reminiscent of Carell’s Gru character from the Despicable Me comedies. This character that he too was born to take on.

The Story: A Saga of Heartbreak

The story is this: Dracula has been restlessly roaming the world in torment over four centuries following his rise as one of the undead, a penalty for his irreligious grief after the passing of his wife, Elisabeta (an inaugural screen appearance for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). Dracula has been searching, searching, searching for some woman who would be the return of his departed beloved. As ill fortune would have it, the fortunate female proves to be Mina (portrayed once more by Bleu), the reserved future wife of Dracula’s wimpish land agent, Jonathan Harker (played by Ewens Abid), who has recently been to the vampire’s estate to discuss 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 middle-section history of global roaming wearing flamboyant outfits skillfully, and he doesn’t shy away from providing some comedy moments reminiscent of Mel Brooks – for example the vampire’s constant unsuccessful tries to end his own life following Elisabeta’s passing, as well as comical sequences that occur when Dracula douses himself using a particular scent during the 1700s in Florence, which causes him to be unavoidably attractive to females. Outlandish but entertaining.

Dracula is on digital platforms starting December 1st and on DVD and Blu-ray starting the twenty-second of December. It screens in Australian cinemas beginning on the fifth of February, 2026.