Dracula Movie Critique – The French Director’s Passionate Revamp of the Gothic Classic is Absurd but Watchable
It’s possible there is no great enthusiasm for a new version of Dracula from Luc Besson, the celebrated French director for stylish excess. Still, it’s worth noting: his opulently crafted vampire romance boasts bold vision and flair – and with its B-movie charm, it could be preferable over Robert Eggers’s recent, solemnly classy version of Nosferatu. A few strange elements appear, including one shot that looks like it presents a land border between France and Romania.
The Veteran Actor as a Clever but Weary Priest Tracking the Undead
Christoph Waltz embodies a humorous yet burdened vampire-hunting priest – it feels natural for him to tackle such a part earlier – who finds himself in Paris in 1889 during the centennial of the French Revolution. So does the sinister Dracula, brought to life by the expert in grotesque roles Caleb Landry Jones speaking in a twisted regional dialect evoking Steve Carell’s Gru of the Despicable Me series. This character that he too was born to take on.
The Plot: A Saga of Heartbreak
The story is this: Dracula has been restlessly roaming the world in sorrow for hundreds of years since he became undead, a punishment for his faithless sorrow following the loss of his spouse Elisabeta (an inaugural screen appearance for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). The count has sought relentlessly for a female who would be the rebirth of his departed beloved. By cruel fate, the lucky lady is revealed as Mina (also Bleu, of course), the reserved future wife of the count’s timid estate manager, Jonathan Harker (enacted by Ewens Abid), who has recently been to Dracula’s fortress to negotiate his land assets and the small picture of the charming Mina drew the vampire’s attention.
The Filmmaker’s Approach and Humorous Style
Besson arranges Dracula’s middle-section history of global roaming wearing flamboyant outfits with a sure hand, and he doesn’t shy away from giving us humorous scenes reminiscent of Mel Brooks – like the vampire’s constant unsuccessful tries to kill himself post-Elisabeta’s demise, along with comical sequences that result after Dracula applies to himself with a specific fragrance in historic Florence, which makes him unavoidably attractive to females. Absurd yet engaging.
Dracula can be streamed online beginning on the first of December and for physical purchase from 22 December. It will be shown in Australian cinemas starting February 5, 2026.
