Dracula Movie Critique – The French Director’s Romantic Reimagining of the Classic Horror Story is Outlandish but Engaging

It’s possible audiences aren’t clamoring for a fresh take of Dracula from Luc Besson, the filmmaker known for stylish excess. And yet, one must admit: his lavishly upholstered romantic vampire tale displays creativity and style – and amid its theatrical camp, I might just favor 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 Vampire-Hunting Priest

Christoph Waltz plays a clever but beleaguered cleric fighting vampires – I can’t believe he hasn’t played this character previously – who finds himself in Paris in 1889 to mark the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. So does the evil Count Dracula, played by the body-horror veteran Caleb Landry Jones using a distorted Eastern European tone reminiscent of Carell’s Gru character from the Despicable Me comedies. This character that he too was born to take on.

The Plot: A Saga of Heartbreak

The plot unfolds as follows: the count has traveled ceaselessly the world in torment for hundreds of years following his rise as one of the undead, a penalty for his irreligious grief after the passing of his beloved Elisabeta (an inaugural screen appearance for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). The count has looked tirelessly for a lady who would be the rebirth of his deceased partner. As ill fortune would have it, the fortunate female proves to be Mina (again played by Bleu), the demure fiancee of Dracula’s feeble property handler, Jonathan Harker (enacted by Ewens Abid), who lately visited to the count’s castle to discuss his property portfolio and the tiny painting of the lovely Mina attracted Dracula’s gaze.

The Filmmaker’s Approach and Comic Flair

Besson organizes Dracula’s second-act backstory of global roaming sporting extravagant attire confidently, and he is not above providing funny bits in the style of Mel Brooks – such as the vampire’s constant unsuccessful tries to end his own life post-Elisabeta’s demise, as well as comical sequences that follow Dracula sprays himself with a specific fragrance in historic Florence, that renders him compelling to the opposite sex. Absurd yet engaging.

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