Dracula Review – The French Director’s Passionate Reimagining of the Gothic Classic is Outlandish but Engaging

It’s possible audiences aren’t clamoring for a fresh take of Dracula from Luc Besson, the French maestro for stylish excess. Still, it’s worth noting: his lavishly upholstered vampire romance has ambition and panache – and in all its Hammer-y cheesiness, I’m not sure I wouldn’t prefer to it to the recent, stately interpretation by Robert Eggers of Nosferatu. Odd details emerge, like a particular moment that appears to show a land border between France and Romania.

Waltz as a Clever but Weary Vampire-Hunting Priest

Christoph Waltz embodies a clever but beleaguered vampire-hunting priest – it feels natural for him to tackle such a part earlier – who arrives in Paris in 1889 during the centennial of the French Revolution. The same goes for the evil Count Dracula, enacted by the body-horror veteran Caleb Landry Jones with a mangled central European accent similar to Carell’s Gru character of the Despicable Me series. This is a part he seemed destined to play.

The Story: A Chronicle of Longing

The story is this: the count has traveled ceaselessly the world in anguish over four centuries since he became undead, a penalty for his faithless sorrow after the passing of his wife, Elisabeta (a movie debut role for Zoë Bleu, Rosanna Arquette’s child). The count has looked tirelessly for some woman who would be the reincarnation of his departed beloved. By cruel fate, the lucky lady turns out to be Mina (portrayed once more by Bleu), the demure fiancee of Dracula’s wimpish land agent, Jonathan Harker (played by Ewens Abid), who lately visited to the vampire’s estate to discuss his real estate holdings and the small picture of the winsome Mina attracted Dracula’s gaze.

Besson’s Handling and Lighthearted Touch

Besson organizes Dracula’s middle-section history of international journeys in various outrageous costumes skillfully, and he willingly includes offering humorous scenes with a distinctly Mel Brooks flavour – such as Dracula’s ongoing failed efforts to kill himself after Elisabeta’s death, in addition to comical sequences that occur when Dracula douses himself with a specific fragrance during the 1700s in Florence, that renders him irresistible to women. Ridiculous and watchable.

Dracula is on digital platforms starting December 1st and for physical purchase from December 22nd. It screens in Australian cinemas starting February 5, 2026.