Dracula Movie Critique – Luc Besson’s Love-Struck Reimagining of the Classic Horror Story is Absurd but Watchable

Maybe there is no great enthusiasm for a new version of Dracula from Luc Besson, the French maestro for stylish excess. And yet, it has to be said: his opulently crafted love story with vampires has ambition and panache – and with its B-movie charm, I might just favor to it to Robert Eggers’s recent, solemnly classy version of Nosferatu. A few strange elements appear, like a particular moment that appears to show a geographic divide between France and Romania.

The Veteran Actor as a Humorously Exhausted Priest Tracking the Undead

Christoph Waltz portrays a witty yet careworn man of the church pursuing the undead – it’s surprising he never took on this role before – who finds himself in Paris in 1889 during the centennial of the French Revolution. So does the malevolent vampire count, played by the seasoned horror actor Caleb Landry Jones using a distorted Eastern European tone similar to Steve Carell’s Gru of the Despicable Me series. It’s a role he seemed destined to play.

The Story: A Chronicle of Longing

The plot unfolds as follows: the vampire lord has traveled ceaselessly the globe in torment over four centuries after his transformation into a vampire, a penalty due to his blasphemous mourning after the passing of his spouse Elisabeta (an inaugural screen appearance for Zoë Bleu, the offspring of Rosanna Arquette). the vampire has looked tirelessly for a female who would be the rebirth of his deceased partner. As ill fortune would have it, the fortunate female is revealed as Mina (again played by Bleu), the reserved future wife of Dracula’s feeble property handler, Jonathan Harker (played by Ewens Abid), who lately visited to Dracula’s fortress to discuss his property portfolio and the small picture of the winsome Mina drew the vampire’s attention.

Besson’s Direction and Humorous Style

Besson arranges Dracula’s flashback sequence of international journeys wearing flamboyant outfits confidently, and he doesn’t shy away from offering funny bits in the style of Mel Brooks – such as the count’s repeated and futile attempts to commit suicide following Elisabeta’s passing, along with farcical scenes that follow Dracula applies to himself using a particular scent in historic Florence, that renders him compelling to the opposite sex. Outlandish but entertaining.

Dracula can be streamed online beginning on the first of December and on DVD and Blu-ray from December 22nd. It screens in Australian cinemas beginning on the fifth of February, 2026.