Dracula Review – The French Director’s Love-Struck Reimagining of the Classic Horror Story is Absurd but Engaging

Maybe there is no great enthusiasm for a fresh take of Dracula from Luc Besson, the French maestro for glossiness and bloat. And yet, it has to be said: his lavishly upholstered love story with vampires displays creativity and style – and amid its theatrical camp, I might just favor compared with Eggers’s dignified recent take of Nosferatu. Odd details emerge, such as a scene that seems to depict a territorial boundary between France and Romania.

Waltz as a Humorously Exhausted Clergyman Hunting Vampires

Christoph Waltz portrays a humorous yet burdened man of the church pursuing the undead – it feels natural for him to tackle this character previously – who arrives in Paris in 1889 to mark the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. Likewise present is the evil Count Dracula, played by the body-horror veteran Caleb Landry Jones with a mangled central European accent similar to Steve Carell’s Gru in the Despicable Me films. This character suits him perfectly.

The Plot: A Saga of Heartbreak

The plot unfolds as follows: Dracula has been restlessly roaming the world in sorrow over four centuries since he became undead, a consequence for his irreligious grief over the death of his beloved Elisabeta (a first film part for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). the vampire has been searching, searching, searching for some woman who would be the reincarnation of his departed beloved. As ill fortune would have it, the chosen woman is revealed as Mina (also Bleu, of course), the demure fiancee of Dracula’s wimpish land agent, Jonathan Harker (Ewens Abid), who just traveled to the count’s castle to discuss his real estate holdings and the small picture of the charming Mina caught the count’s hooded eye.

The Filmmaker’s Approach and Lighthearted Touch

Besson arranges Dracula’s second-act backstory of worldwide travels wearing flamboyant outfits confidently, and he doesn’t shy away from providing humorous scenes in the style of Mel Brooks – such as Dracula’s ongoing failed efforts to end his own life after Elisabeta’s death, in addition to absurd moments that result after Dracula douses himself with a specific fragrance in historic Florence, which causes him to be unavoidably attractive to females. Absurd yet engaging.

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