Dracula Movie Critique – Besson’s Passionate Reimagining of the Classic Horror Story is Ridiculous but Engaging

Perhaps there is no great enthusiasm for a new version of Dracula from Luc Besson, the filmmaker known for stylish excess. And yet, one must admit: his opulently crafted love story with vampires has ambition and panache – and in all its Hammer-y cheesiness, I might just favor to it to Robert Eggers’s recent, solemnly classy version of Nosferatu. There are some very bizarre touches, like a particular moment that appears to show a land border between France and Romania.

The Veteran Actor as a Clever but Weary Clergyman Hunting Vampires

Christoph Waltz plays a clever but beleaguered man of the church pursuing the undead – it’s surprising he never took on this role before – who arrives in Paris in 1889 during the centennial of the French Revolution. So does the sinister Dracula, played by the seasoned horror actor Caleb Landry Jones with a mangled central European accent reminiscent of Carell’s Gru character of the Despicable Me series. This character that he too was born to take on.

The Plot: A Tale of Love and Loss

Here’s the premise: the count has traveled ceaselessly the globe in sorrow for 400 years since he became undead, a consequence for his irreligious grief after the passing of his spouse Elisabeta (a first film part for Zoë Bleu, the offspring of Rosanna Arquette). Dracula has looked tirelessly for some woman who might be the reincarnation of his lost love. Unfortunately, the fortunate female is revealed as Mina (also Bleu, of course), the modest betrothed of Dracula’s wimpish land agent, Jonathan Harker (Ewens Abid), who lately visited to the count’s castle to discuss his land assets and the tiny painting of the winsome Mina caught the count’s hooded eye.

The Filmmaker’s Approach and Lighthearted Touch

Besson arranges Dracula’s middle-section history of worldwide travels sporting extravagant attire with a sure hand, and he willingly includes providing humorous scenes with a distinctly Mel Brooks flavour – like the count’s repeated and futile attempts to end his own life following Elisabeta’s passing, along with absurd moments that follow Dracula sprays himself using a particular scent during the 1700s in Florence, that renders him unavoidably attractive to females. 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.