Dracula Review – Besson’s Passionate Reimagining of the Classic Horror Story is Outlandish but Entertaining

Maybe interest is limited for a fresh take of Dracula from Luc Besson, the French maestro for glossiness and bloat. And yet, it’s worth noting: his opulently crafted vampire romance boasts bold vision and flair – and with its B-movie charm, I’m not sure I wouldn’t prefer to it to Robert Eggers’s recent, solemnly classy version of Nosferatu. There are some very bizarre touches, like a particular moment that looks like it presents a land border between France and Romania.

Waltz as a Humorously Exhausted Clergyman Hunting Vampires

Christoph Waltz portrays a witty yet careworn cleric fighting vampires – it feels natural for him to tackle such a part earlier – who ends up in Paris in 1889 during the centennial of the French Revolution. The same goes for the malevolent vampire count, played by the expert in grotesque roles Caleb Landry Jones with a mangled central European accent similar to Carell’s Gru character in the Despicable Me films. This character that he too was born to take on.

The Story: A Chronicle of Longing

The plot unfolds as follows: the vampire lord has been restlessly roaming the world in sorrow over four centuries after his transformation into a vampire, a penalty for his faithless sorrow over the death of his beloved Elisabeta (an inaugural screen appearance for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). The count has looked tirelessly for a female who could be the reincarnation of his lost love. As ill fortune would have it, the chosen woman proves to be Mina (also Bleu, of course), the demure fiancee of the count’s timid estate manager, Jonathan Harker (enacted by Ewens Abid), who lately visited to Dracula’s fortress to discuss his land assets and the small picture of the winsome Mina drew the vampire’s attention.

Besson’s Handling and Lighthearted Touch

Besson organizes Dracula’s second-act backstory of global roaming wearing flamboyant outfits skillfully, and he is not above offering some comedy moments reminiscent of Mel Brooks – for example the count’s repeated and futile attempts to kill himself post-Elisabeta’s demise, along with absurd moments that follow Dracula douses himself in a certain perfume in historic Florence, that renders him compelling to the opposite sex. Ridiculous and watchable.

Dracula is available digitally beginning on the first of December and for physical purchase starting the twenty-second of December. It plays in Australian cinemas beginning on the fifth of February, 2026.