Dracula Review – Besson’s Love-Struck Reinterpretation of the Gothic Classic is Outlandish but Engaging

It’s possible interest is limited for a fresh take of Dracula from Luc Besson, the celebrated French director for stylish excess. And yet, it’s worth noting: his richly designed vampire romance has ambition and panache – and with its B-movie charm, I’m not sure I wouldn’t prefer over the recent, stately interpretation by Robert Eggers of Nosferatu. Odd details emerge, such as a scene that appears to show a geographic divide between France and Romania.

Christoph Waltz as a Witty Yet Careworn Priest Tracking the Undead

Christoph Waltz embodies a clever but beleaguered vampire-hunting priest – it feels natural for him to tackle this character previously – who ends up in Paris in 1889 during the centennial of the French Revolution. The same goes for the sinister Dracula, played by the expert in grotesque roles Caleb Landry Jones with a mangled central European accent evoking Steve Carell’s Gru in the Despicable Me films. This character suits him perfectly.

The Story: A Chronicle of Longing

Here’s the premise: Dracula has traveled ceaselessly the world in anguish for 400 years following his rise as one of the undead, a penalty due to his blasphemous mourning following the loss of his wife, Elisabeta (a first film part for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). The count has looked tirelessly for a female who could be the reincarnation of his deceased partner. By cruel fate, the lucky lady is revealed as Mina (again played by Bleu), the reserved future wife of Dracula’s wimpish land agent, Jonathan Harker (enacted by Ewens Abid), who just traveled to the vampire’s estate to review his land assets and whose miniature portrait of the winsome Mina drew the vampire’s attention.

Besson’s Direction and Comic Flair

Besson structures Dracula’s flashback sequence of global roaming sporting extravagant attire confidently, and he is not above providing some comedy moments with a distinctly Mel Brooks flavour – such as the vampire’s constant unsuccessful tries to end his own life following Elisabeta’s passing, as well as comical sequences that result after Dracula douses himself in a certain perfume during the 1700s in Florence, that renders him compelling to the opposite sex. Absurd yet engaging.

Dracula is available digitally from 1 December and in disc format from December 22nd. It will be shown in Australian cinemas from 5 February 2026.