Dracula Review – Luc Besson’s Romantic Reinterpretation of the Timeless Gothic Tale is Outlandish but Engaging

It’s possible interest is limited for a new version of Dracula from Luc Besson, the celebrated French director for stylish excess. And yet, it’s worth noting: his lavishly upholstered vampire romance has ambition and panache – and in all its Hammer-y cheesiness, I might just favor to it to the recent, stately interpretation by Robert Eggers of Nosferatu. There are some very bizarre touches, like a particular moment that looks like it presents a land border between France and Romania.

Christoph Waltz as a Clever but Weary Clergyman Hunting Vampires

Christoph Waltz portrays 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 for the French Revolution centenary celebrations. So does the evil Count Dracula, brought to life by the expert in grotesque roles Caleb Landry Jones speaking in a twisted regional dialect reminiscent of the voice of Gru by Steve Carell from the Despicable Me comedies. This character that he too was born to take on.

The Narrative: A Chronicle of Longing

Here’s the premise: Dracula has wandered endlessly the earth in anguish for hundreds of years after his transformation into a vampire, a penalty for his irreligious grief following the loss of his beloved Elisabeta (a first film part for Zoë Bleu, the offspring of Rosanna Arquette). The count has looked tirelessly for some woman who would be the rebirth of his deceased partner. As ill fortune would have it, the fortunate female is revealed as Mina (portrayed once more by Bleu), the demure fiancee of Dracula’s feeble property handler, Jonathan Harker (Ewens Abid), who has recently been to the count’s castle to review his land assets and the small picture of the charming Mina drew the vampire’s attention.

Besson’s Handling and Humorous Style

Besson arranges Dracula’s flashback sequence of global roaming in various outrageous costumes with a sure hand, and he is not above providing humorous scenes in the style of Mel Brooks – like the vampire’s constant unsuccessful tries to end his own life post-Elisabeta’s demise, as well as comical sequences that occur when Dracula applies to himself with a specific fragrance in 18th-century Florence, that renders him compelling to the opposite sex. Outlandish but entertaining.

Dracula is on digital platforms beginning on the first of December and in disc format from 22 December. It will be shown in Australian cinemas beginning on the fifth of February, 2026.