Dracula Review – Besson’s Love-Struck Reinterpretation 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 glossiness and bloat. And yet, it’s worth noting: his lavishly upholstered romantic vampire tale has ambition and panache – and with its B-movie charm, I’m not sure I wouldn’t prefer compared with Eggers’s dignified recent take of Nosferatu. Odd details emerge, including one shot that seems to depict a territorial boundary between France and Romania.

Waltz as a Humorously Exhausted Priest Tracking the Undead

Christoph Waltz embodies a clever but beleaguered man of the church pursuing the undead – I can’t believe he hasn’t played this character previously – who arrives in Paris in 1889 for the French Revolution centenary celebrations. So does the evil Count Dracula, enacted by the body-horror veteran Caleb Landry Jones speaking in a twisted regional dialect similar to Steve Carell’s Gru from the Despicable Me comedies. This character suits him perfectly.

The Plot: A Saga of Heartbreak

Here’s the premise: the count has been restlessly roaming the globe in anguish for 400 years after his transformation into a vampire, a punishment for his faithless sorrow over the death of his beloved Elisabeta (a movie debut role for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). The count has looked tirelessly for a lady who might be the return of his lost love. Unfortunately, the fortunate female proves to be Mina (portrayed once more by Bleu), the demure fiancee of the count’s timid estate manager, Jonathan Harker (Ewens Abid), who has recently been to Dracula’s fortress to discuss his property portfolio and the tiny painting of the charming Mina drew the vampire’s attention.

Besson’s Handling and Lighthearted Touch

Besson organizes Dracula’s second-act backstory of global roaming sporting extravagant attire skillfully, and he is not above giving us humorous scenes reminiscent of Mel Brooks – like the vampire’s constant unsuccessful tries to commit suicide post-Elisabeta’s demise, as well as absurd moments that result after Dracula douses himself using a particular scent in 18th-century Florence, which causes him to be unavoidably attractive to females. Ridiculous and watchable.

Dracula is available digitally starting December 1st and in disc format from December 22nd. It plays in Australian cinemas beginning on the fifth of February, 2026.