Dracula Movie Critique – Besson’s Passionate Reinterpretation of the Timeless Gothic Tale is Outlandish but Engaging

It’s possible audiences aren’t clamoring for a fresh take of Dracula from Luc Besson, the celebrated French director for stylish excess. Still, it’s worth noting: his richly designed romantic vampire tale has ambition and panache – and with its B-movie charm, it could be preferable over Robert Eggers’s recent, solemnly classy version of Nosferatu. Odd details emerge, including one shot that looks like it presents a geographic divide between France and Romania.

Christoph Waltz as a Clever but Weary Priest Tracking the Undead

Christoph Waltz embodies a witty yet careworn vampire-hunting priest – it’s surprising he never took on this character previously – who ends up in Paris in 1889 to mark the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. So does the evil Count Dracula, enacted by the expert in grotesque roles Caleb Landry Jones using a distorted Eastern European tone reminiscent of the voice of Gru by Steve Carell of the Despicable Me series. This is a part suits him perfectly.

The Story: A Tale of Love and Loss

The story is this: Dracula has been restlessly roaming the earth in anguish for 400 years after his transformation into a vampire, a punishment for his irreligious grief after the passing of his wife, Elisabeta (an inaugural screen appearance for Zoë Bleu, the offspring of Rosanna Arquette). Dracula has been searching, searching, searching for a lady who might be the reincarnation of his departed beloved. Unfortunately, the chosen woman turns out to be Mina (again played by Bleu), the reserved future wife of Dracula’s feeble property handler, Jonathan Harker (enacted by Ewens Abid), who just traveled to the count’s castle to review his real estate holdings and whose miniature portrait of the lovely Mina attracted Dracula’s gaze.

Besson’s Direction and Comic Flair

Besson arranges Dracula’s second-act backstory of worldwide travels wearing flamboyant outfits with a sure hand, and he willingly includes giving us humorous scenes reminiscent of Mel Brooks – for example the count’s repeated and futile attempts to end his own life post-Elisabeta’s demise, along with absurd moments that occur when Dracula sprays himself using a particular scent in historic Florence, that renders him irresistible to women. Absurd yet engaging.

Dracula is available digitally starting December 1st and in disc format starting the twenty-second of December. It will be shown in Australian cinemas from 5 February 2026.