Dracula Review – Besson’s Love-Struck Revamp of the Classic Horror Story is Absurd but Engaging

Perhaps interest is limited for a new version of Dracula from Luc Besson, the French maestro for stylish excess. However, one must admit: his lavishly upholstered romantic vampire tale boasts bold vision and flair – and in all its Hammer-y cheesiness, it could be preferable to it to the recent, stately interpretation by Robert Eggers of Nosferatu. There are some very bizarre touches, including one shot that seems to depict a territorial boundary between France and Romania.

Waltz as a Clever but Weary Clergyman Hunting Vampires

Christoph Waltz plays a witty yet careworn cleric fighting vampires – I can’t believe he hasn’t played this character previously – who finds himself in Paris in 1889 to mark the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. Likewise present is the malevolent vampire count, played by the seasoned horror actor Caleb Landry Jones speaking in a twisted regional dialect evoking Carell’s Gru character from the Despicable Me comedies. This is a part he seemed destined to play.

The Narrative: A Chronicle of Longing

Here’s the premise: Dracula has traveled ceaselessly the world in torment for 400 years since he became undead, a punishment for his irreligious grief after the passing of his wife, Elisabeta (a first film part for Zoë Bleu, the offspring of Rosanna Arquette). The count has looked tirelessly for some woman who could be the return of his deceased partner. As ill fortune would have it, the chosen woman proves to be Mina (again played by Bleu), the modest betrothed of the count’s timid estate manager, Jonathan Harker (played by Ewens Abid), who has recently been to the vampire’s estate to review his real estate holdings and the small picture of the charming Mina attracted Dracula’s gaze.

Besson’s Handling and Humorous Style

Besson arranges Dracula’s second-act backstory of worldwide travels sporting extravagant attire confidently, and he is not above offering some comedy moments reminiscent of Mel Brooks – such as the count’s repeated and futile attempts to end his own life after Elisabeta’s death, along with farcical scenes that occur when Dracula douses himself with a specific fragrance in historic Florence, which makes him irresistible to women. Absurd yet engaging.

Dracula can be streamed online from 1 December and in disc format starting the twenty-second of December. It will be shown in Australian cinemas from 5 February 2026.