Dracula Review – Luc Besson’s Passionate Revamp of the Gothic Classic is Outlandish but Entertaining

It’s possible audiences aren’t clamoring for a fresh take of Dracula from Luc Besson, the celebrated French director for stylish excess. However, it’s worth noting: his lavishly upholstered romantic vampire tale boasts bold vision and flair – and amid its theatrical camp, I’m not sure I wouldn’t prefer compared with the recent, stately interpretation by Robert Eggers of Nosferatu. A few strange elements appear, like a particular moment that looks like it presents a geographic divide between France and Romania.

Waltz as a Clever but Weary Vampire-Hunting Priest

Christoph Waltz plays a clever but beleaguered vampire-hunting priest – it’s surprising he never took on 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 expert in grotesque roles Caleb Landry Jones with a mangled central European accent evoking the voice of Gru by Steve Carell in the Despicable Me films. It’s a role that he too was born to take on.

The Plot: A Tale of Love and Loss

The story is this: the count has wandered endlessly the earth in sorrow over four centuries after his transformation into a vampire, a penalty for his faithless sorrow after the passing of his wife, Elisabeta (an inaugural screen appearance for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). The count 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 is revealed as Mina (also Bleu, of course), the demure fiancee of Dracula’s wimpish land agent, Jonathan Harker (Ewens Abid), who has recently been to Dracula’s fortress to negotiate his property portfolio and whose miniature portrait of the charming Mina attracted Dracula’s gaze.

Besson’s Handling and Lighthearted Touch

Besson arranges Dracula’s second-act backstory of global roaming in various outrageous costumes skillfully, and he doesn’t shy away from offering some comedy moments with a distinctly Mel Brooks flavour – for example the vampire’s constant unsuccessful tries to commit suicide post-Elisabeta’s demise, as well as comical sequences that result after Dracula applies to himself using a particular scent in historic Florence, that renders him unavoidably attractive to females. Ridiculous and watchable.

Dracula is available digitally from 1 December and on DVD and Blu-ray from December 22nd. It screens in Australian cinemas from 5 February 2026.