Dracula Review – The French Director’s Romantic Revamp of the Timeless Gothic Tale is Ridiculous but Engaging

Perhaps interest is limited for a new version of Dracula from Luc Besson, the filmmaker known for glossiness and bloat. And yet, one must admit: his opulently crafted romantic vampire tale boasts bold vision and flair – and amid its theatrical camp, I might just favor 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 geographic divide between France and Romania.

Christoph Waltz as a Humorously Exhausted Priest Tracking the Undead

Christoph Waltz portrays a clever but beleaguered man of the church pursuing the undead – it’s surprising he never took on this character previously – who finds himself in Paris in 1889 during the centennial of the French Revolution. The same goes for the malevolent vampire count, brought to life by the seasoned horror actor Caleb Landry Jones with a mangled central European accent reminiscent of Carell’s Gru character in the Despicable Me films. This character he seemed destined to play.

The Narrative: A Chronicle of Longing

The story is this: the vampire lord has been restlessly roaming the earth in torment for hundreds of years following his rise as one of the undead, a penalty for his faithless sorrow following the loss of his beloved Elisabeta (a first film part for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). The count has looked tirelessly for some woman who could be the return of his lost love. As ill fortune would have it, the lucky lady proves to be Mina (also Bleu, of course), the modest betrothed of Dracula’s wimpish land agent, Jonathan Harker (Ewens Abid), who just traveled to Dracula’s fortress to discuss his real estate holdings and the small picture of the charming Mina drew the vampire’s attention.

The Filmmaker’s Approach and Comic Flair

Besson structures Dracula’s middle-section history of global roaming sporting extravagant attire skillfully, and he willingly includes giving us funny bits reminiscent of Mel Brooks – for example Dracula’s ongoing failed efforts to kill himself following Elisabeta’s passing, in addition to absurd moments that result after Dracula sprays himself with a specific fragrance in historic Florence, which causes him to be compelling to the opposite sex. Absurd yet engaging.

Dracula is available digitally beginning on the first of December and for physical purchase from 22 December. It will be shown in Australian cinemas beginning on the fifth of February, 2026.