Dracula Review – Luc Besson’s Passionate Reinterpretation of the Timeless Gothic Tale is Ridiculous but Entertaining

Maybe audiences aren’t clamoring for a new version of Dracula from Luc Besson, the filmmaker known for stylish excess. Still, it’s worth noting: his opulently crafted vampire romance has ambition and panache – and amid its theatrical camp, 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 territorial boundary between France and Romania.

Christoph Waltz as a Clever but Weary Priest Tracking the Undead

Christoph Waltz plays a humorous yet burdened vampire-hunting priest – I can’t believe he hasn’t played this character previously – who finds himself in Paris in 1889 for the French Revolution centenary celebrations. So does the sinister Dracula, played by the expert in grotesque roles 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 Story: A Chronicle of Longing

The plot unfolds as follows: the vampire lord has been restlessly roaming the globe in torment over four centuries after his transformation into a vampire, a punishment due to his blasphemous mourning after the passing of his beloved Elisabeta (a movie debut role for Zoë Bleu, the offspring of Rosanna Arquette). Dracula has sought relentlessly for a lady who would be the reincarnation of his departed beloved. As ill fortune would have it, the chosen woman proves to be Mina (again played by Bleu), the demure fiancee of Dracula’s wimpish land agent, Jonathan Harker (Ewens Abid), who has recently been to Dracula’s fortress to discuss his land assets and the small picture of the charming Mina caught the count’s hooded eye.

The Filmmaker’s Approach and Lighthearted Touch

Besson structures Dracula’s flashback sequence of international journeys wearing flamboyant outfits with a sure hand, and he is not above providing funny bits with a distinctly Mel Brooks flavour – for example the vampire’s constant unsuccessful tries to kill himself following Elisabeta’s passing, in addition to absurd moments that result after Dracula douses himself using a particular scent in historic Florence, that renders him compelling to the opposite sex. Ridiculous and watchable.

Dracula can be streamed online from 1 December and for physical purchase from December 22nd. It screens in Australian cinemas starting February 5, 2026.