Dracula Movie Critique – Besson’s Passionate Revamp of the Gothic Classic is Ridiculous but Entertaining

Maybe there is no great enthusiasm for a new version of Dracula from Luc Besson, the celebrated French director for stylish excess. Still, one must admit: his richly designed love story with vampires displays creativity and style – and with its B-movie charm, I’m not sure I wouldn’t prefer to it to Eggers’s dignified recent take of Nosferatu. There are some very bizarre touches, like a particular moment that looks like it presents a territorial boundary between France and Romania.

The Veteran Actor as a Clever but Weary Priest Tracking the Undead

Christoph Waltz plays a witty yet careworn man of the church pursuing the undead – it’s surprising he never took on such a part earlier – who arrives in Paris in 1889 for the French Revolution centenary celebrations. The same goes for the evil Count Dracula, brought to life by the body-horror veteran Caleb Landry Jones with a mangled central European accent reminiscent of the voice of Gru by Steve Carell of the Despicable Me series. This character suits him perfectly.

The Story: A Saga of Heartbreak

The plot unfolds as follows: the count has wandered endlessly the earth in torment over four centuries after his transformation into a vampire, a consequence for his faithless sorrow after the passing of his beloved Elisabeta (an inaugural screen appearance for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). the vampire has been searching, searching, searching for a female who could be the rebirth of his lost love. By cruel fate, the fortunate female turns out to be Mina (portrayed once more by Bleu), the reserved future wife of the count’s timid estate manager, Jonathan Harker (enacted by Ewens Abid), who has recently been to the count’s castle to discuss his property portfolio and the small picture of the lovely Mina attracted Dracula’s gaze.

Besson’s Direction and Comic Flair

Besson organizes Dracula’s middle-section history of international journeys sporting extravagant attire confidently, and he willingly includes offering funny bits in the style of Mel Brooks – for example Dracula’s ongoing failed efforts to commit suicide following Elisabeta’s passing, along with farcical scenes that occur when Dracula sprays himself using a particular scent in 18th-century Florence, that renders him compelling to the opposite sex. Absurd yet engaging.

Dracula can be streamed online starting December 1st and on DVD and Blu-ray from December 22nd. It plays in Australian cinemas beginning on the fifth of February, 2026.