Dracula Review – Besson’s Love-Struck Reinterpretation of the Classic Horror Story is Outlandish but Entertaining

Maybe audiences aren’t clamoring for a fresh take of Dracula from Luc Besson, the French maestro for glossiness and bloat. And yet, it has to be said: his opulently crafted romantic vampire tale displays creativity and style – and in all its Hammer-y cheesiness, I might just favor over the recent, stately interpretation by Robert Eggers of Nosferatu. There are some very bizarre touches, like a particular moment that appears to show a territorial boundary between France and Romania.

Christoph Waltz as a Humorously Exhausted Priest Tracking the Undead

Christoph Waltz embodies a witty yet careworn vampire-hunting priest – I can’t believe he hasn’t played this role before – who arrives in Paris in 1889 for the French Revolution centenary celebrations. So does the evil Count Dracula, enacted by the expert in grotesque roles Caleb Landry Jones using a distorted Eastern European tone similar to Steve Carell’s Gru in the Despicable Me films. This character suits him perfectly.

The Story: A Tale of Love and Loss

Here’s the premise: the count has wandered endlessly the globe in anguish over four centuries since he became undead, a penalty for his faithless sorrow following the loss of his spouse Elisabeta (a first film part for Zoë Bleu, the offspring of Rosanna Arquette). Dracula 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 (portrayed once more by Bleu), the reserved future wife of Dracula’s wimpish land agent, Jonathan Harker (enacted by Ewens Abid), who has recently been to Dracula’s fortress to discuss his land assets and the tiny painting of the charming Mina drew the vampire’s attention.

The Filmmaker’s Approach and Comic Flair

Besson arranges Dracula’s flashback sequence of international journeys wearing flamboyant outfits confidently, and he willingly includes giving us some comedy moments reminiscent of Mel Brooks – such as Dracula’s ongoing failed efforts to commit suicide post-Elisabeta’s demise, in addition to farcical scenes that follow Dracula applies to himself with a specific fragrance in historic Florence, which causes him to be compelling to the opposite sex. Outlandish but entertaining.

Dracula can be streamed online beginning on the first of December and for physical purchase starting the twenty-second of December. It will be shown in Australian cinemas beginning on the fifth of February, 2026.