Dracula Review – The French Director’s Romantic Revamp of the Gothic Classic is Absurd but Entertaining

Maybe interest is limited for a fresh take of Dracula from Luc Besson, the French maestro for stylish excess. However, it’s worth noting: his opulently crafted romantic vampire tale boasts bold vision and flair – and with its B-movie charm, I might just favor to it to Eggers’s dignified recent take of Nosferatu. There are some very bizarre touches, like a particular moment that looks like it presents a territorial boundary between France and Romania.

Christoph Waltz as a Humorously Exhausted Clergyman Hunting Vampires

Christoph Waltz plays a humorous yet burdened cleric fighting vampires – I can’t believe he hasn’t played such a part earlier – who finds himself in Paris in 1889 during the centennial of the French Revolution. Likewise present is the evil Count Dracula, enacted by the seasoned horror actor Caleb Landry Jones using a distorted Eastern European tone evoking Carell’s Gru character of the Despicable Me series. It’s a role suits him perfectly.

The Story: A Saga of Heartbreak

Here’s the premise: the vampire lord has wandered endlessly the earth in torment for 400 years following his rise as one of the undead, a consequence for his irreligious grief following the loss of his spouse Elisabeta (a movie debut role for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). The count has looked tirelessly for a female who would be the return of his lost love. By cruel fate, the chosen woman proves to be Mina (also Bleu, of course), the reserved future wife of Dracula’s feeble property handler, Jonathan Harker (played by Ewens Abid), who just traveled to the vampire’s estate to discuss his land assets and the small picture of the lovely Mina drew the vampire’s attention.

Besson’s Direction and Lighthearted Touch

Besson structures Dracula’s middle-section history of worldwide travels sporting extravagant attire skillfully, and he is not above providing funny bits with a distinctly Mel Brooks flavour – for example the count’s repeated and futile attempts to end his own life following Elisabeta’s passing, as well as absurd moments that occur when Dracula sprays himself with a specific fragrance in 18th-century Florence, that renders him unavoidably attractive to females. Outlandish but entertaining.

Dracula is available digitally starting December 1st and for physical purchase from 22 December. It screens in Australian cinemas beginning on the fifth of February, 2026.