Dracula Movie Critique – Luc Besson’s Passionate Revamp of the Gothic Classic is Ridiculous but Engaging

Perhaps interest is limited for a fresh take of Dracula from Luc Besson, the filmmaker known for glossiness and bloat. And yet, it’s worth noting: his lavishly upholstered love story with vampires boasts bold vision and flair – and with its B-movie charm, I might just favor to it to Robert Eggers’s recent, solemnly classy version of Nosferatu. There are some very bizarre touches, such as a scene that appears to show a territorial boundary between France and Romania.

Christoph Waltz as a Witty Yet Careworn Vampire-Hunting Priest

Christoph Waltz plays a humorous yet burdened vampire-hunting priest – I can’t believe he hasn’t played such a part earlier – who arrives in Paris in 1889 to mark the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. The same goes for the sinister Dracula, enacted by the expert in grotesque roles Caleb Landry Jones speaking in a twisted regional dialect reminiscent of Steve Carell’s Gru of the Despicable Me series. This character suits him perfectly.

The Plot: A Saga of Heartbreak

Here’s the premise: the count has wandered endlessly the earth in torment for 400 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, the offspring of Rosanna Arquette). The count has looked tirelessly for a female 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 modest betrothed of Dracula’s wimpish land agent, Jonathan Harker (played by Ewens Abid), who just traveled to the vampire’s estate to discuss his land assets and the tiny painting of the lovely Mina attracted Dracula’s gaze.

The Filmmaker’s Approach and Lighthearted Touch

Besson structures Dracula’s flashback sequence of international journeys sporting extravagant attire confidently, and he is not above offering funny bits in the style of Mel Brooks – like the count’s repeated and futile attempts to commit suicide after Elisabeta’s death, in addition to farcical scenes that follow Dracula sprays himself in a certain perfume in 18th-century Florence, which causes him to be unavoidably attractive to females. Absurd yet engaging.

Dracula can be streamed online beginning on the first of December and on DVD and Blu-ray from 22 December. It screens in Australian cinemas beginning on the fifth of February, 2026.