Dracula Movie Critique – Besson’s Romantic Reinterpretation of the Gothic Classic is Absurd but Engaging

It’s possible audiences aren’t clamoring for an updated adaptation of Dracula from Luc Besson, the filmmaker known for polished extravagance. And yet, it’s worth noting: his opulently crafted love story with vampires boasts bold vision and flair – and with its B-movie charm, I’m not sure I wouldn’t prefer to it to Eggers’s dignified recent take of Nosferatu. A few strange elements appear, such as a scene 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 humorous yet burdened vampire-hunting priest – I can’t believe he hasn’t played such a part earlier – who ends up in Paris in 1889 to mark the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. So does the sinister Dracula, enacted by the expert in grotesque roles Caleb Landry Jones speaking in a twisted regional dialect reminiscent of the voice of Gru by Steve Carell of the Despicable Me series. It’s a role he seemed destined to play.

The Plot: A Chronicle of Longing

Here’s the premise: Dracula has traveled ceaselessly the globe in anguish for hundreds of years following his rise as one of the undead, a punishment for his irreligious grief over the death of his wife, Elisabeta (a movie debut role for Zoë Bleu, the offspring of Rosanna Arquette). Dracula has sought relentlessly for some woman who would be the reincarnation of his lost love. As ill fortune would have it, the lucky lady proves to be Mina (also Bleu, of course), 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 property portfolio and whose miniature portrait of the lovely Mina attracted Dracula’s gaze.

Besson’s Direction and Lighthearted Touch

Besson arranges Dracula’s flashback sequence of global roaming sporting extravagant attire skillfully, and he willingly includes offering some comedy moments in the style of Mel Brooks – such as the count’s repeated and futile attempts to kill himself following Elisabeta’s passing, in addition to absurd moments that follow Dracula sprays himself with a specific fragrance during the 1700s in Florence, which makes him compelling to the opposite sex. Outlandish but entertaining.

Dracula can be streamed online starting December 1st and in disc format from 22 December. It plays in Australian cinemas from 5 February 2026.