Dracula Review – Besson’s Passionate Reimagining of the Timeless Gothic Tale is Outlandish but Entertaining

Maybe interest is limited for a fresh take of Dracula from Luc Besson, the French maestro for stylish excess. However, one must admit: his lavishly upholstered romantic vampire tale has ambition and panache – and amid its theatrical camp, it could be preferable over Eggers’s dignified recent take of Nosferatu. Odd details emerge, including one shot that seems to depict a land border between France and Romania.

Christoph Waltz as a Clever but Weary Clergyman Hunting Vampires

Christoph Waltz embodies a humorous yet burdened vampire-hunting priest – it’s surprising he never took on such a part earlier – who arrives in Paris in 1889 during the centennial of the French Revolution. The same goes for the evil Count Dracula, brought to life by the expert in grotesque roles Caleb Landry Jones using a distorted Eastern European tone evoking the voice of Gru by Steve Carell of the Despicable Me series. It’s a role that he too was born to take on.

The Story: A Tale of Love and Loss

The plot unfolds as follows: the count has traveled ceaselessly the globe in sorrow for 400 years after his transformation into a vampire, a punishment due to his blasphemous mourning following the loss of his beloved Elisabeta (a movie debut role for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). The count has sought relentlessly for some woman who could be the reincarnation of his departed beloved. Unfortunately, the chosen woman proves to be Mina (again played by Bleu), the modest betrothed of the count’s timid estate manager, Jonathan Harker (played by Ewens Abid), who lately visited to the vampire’s estate to review his property portfolio and whose miniature portrait of the lovely Mina drew the vampire’s attention.

Besson’s Handling and Comic Flair

Besson structures Dracula’s second-act backstory of worldwide travels in various outrageous costumes confidently, and he willingly includes providing funny bits with a distinctly Mel Brooks flavour – like Dracula’s ongoing failed efforts to commit suicide after Elisabeta’s death, in addition to farcical scenes that follow Dracula sprays himself in a certain perfume during the 1700s in Florence, which causes him to be irresistible to women. Absurd yet engaging.

Dracula is on digital platforms from 1 December and for physical purchase from December 22nd. It plays in Australian cinemas starting February 5, 2026.