Dracula Review – Luc Besson’s Love-Struck Reinterpretation of the Timeless Gothic Tale is Ridiculous but Engaging

Perhaps there is no great enthusiasm for an updated adaptation of Dracula from Luc Besson, the French maestro for glossiness and bloat. And yet, it has to be said: his richly designed romantic vampire tale has ambition and panache – and in all its Hammer-y cheesiness, I might just favor over the recent, stately interpretation by Robert Eggers of Nosferatu. Odd details emerge, including one shot that looks like it presents a territorial boundary between France and Romania.

Christoph Waltz as a Witty Yet Careworn Vampire-Hunting Priest

Christoph Waltz plays a clever but beleaguered cleric fighting vampires – I can’t believe he hasn’t played this character previously – who ends up in Paris in 1889 to mark the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. The same goes for the sinister Dracula, enacted by the body-horror veteran Caleb Landry Jones using a distorted Eastern European tone similar to Carell’s Gru character of the Despicable Me series. This is a part that he too was born to take on.

The Story: A Chronicle of Longing

Here’s the premise: the vampire lord has wandered endlessly the earth in torment for hundreds of years following his rise as one of the undead, a consequence for his irreligious grief after the passing of his spouse Elisabeta (a first film part for Zoë Bleu, Rosanna Arquette’s child). The count has looked tirelessly for a female who might be the reincarnation of his lost love. As ill fortune would have it, the fortunate female turns out to be Mina (again played by Bleu), the reserved future wife of Dracula’s feeble property handler, Jonathan Harker (played by Ewens Abid), who just traveled to Dracula’s fortress to discuss his property portfolio and the tiny painting of the lovely Mina attracted Dracula’s gaze.

Besson’s Direction and Comic Flair

Besson structures Dracula’s second-act backstory of international journeys wearing flamboyant outfits with a sure hand, and he doesn’t shy away from giving us funny bits reminiscent of Mel Brooks – such as the count’s repeated and futile attempts to end his own life following Elisabeta’s passing, in addition to farcical scenes that follow Dracula sprays himself with a specific fragrance during the 1700s in Florence, which causes him to be irresistible to women. Ridiculous and watchable.

Dracula is on digital platforms beginning on the first of December and in disc format from 22 December. It screens in Australian cinemas starting February 5, 2026.