Dracula Movie Critique – Besson’s Romantic Revamp of the Gothic Classic is Ridiculous but Watchable
Maybe there is no great enthusiasm for a new version of Dracula from Luc Besson, the celebrated French director for polished extravagance. Still, one must admit: his richly designed love story with vampires boasts bold vision and flair – and amid its theatrical camp, I’m not sure I wouldn’t prefer to it to Eggers’s dignified recent take of Nosferatu. A few strange elements appear, like a particular moment that appears to show a territorial boundary between France and Romania.
Waltz as a Witty Yet Careworn Clergyman Hunting Vampires
Christoph Waltz embodies a witty yet careworn cleric fighting vampires – I can’t believe he hasn’t played such a part earlier – who finds himself 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 with a mangled central European accent evoking Carell’s Gru character of the Despicable Me series. This character suits him perfectly.
The Story: A Saga of Heartbreak
The story is this: the vampire lord has wandered endlessly the earth in anguish over four centuries after his transformation into a vampire, a consequence for his faithless sorrow after the passing of his wife, Elisabeta (a movie debut role for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). Dracula has sought relentlessly for some woman who might be the reincarnation of his lost love. Unfortunately, the lucky lady turns out to be Mina (portrayed once more by Bleu), the modest betrothed of the count’s timid estate manager, Jonathan Harker (enacted by Ewens Abid), who just traveled to the vampire’s estate to discuss his property portfolio and the small picture of the charming Mina drew the vampire’s attention.
The Filmmaker’s Approach and Comic Flair
Besson structures Dracula’s flashback sequence of global roaming sporting extravagant attire skillfully, and he is not above offering humorous scenes reminiscent of Mel Brooks – like the vampire’s constant unsuccessful tries to commit suicide post-Elisabeta’s demise, along with absurd moments that occur when Dracula douses himself using a particular scent in 18th-century Florence, that renders him unavoidably attractive to females. Absurd yet engaging.
Dracula is on digital platforms beginning on the first of December and on DVD and Blu-ray starting the twenty-second of December. It screens in Australian cinemas starting February 5, 2026.
