Dracula Review – The French Director’s Passionate Revamp of the Gothic Classic is Outlandish but Entertaining

Maybe interest is limited for a new version of Dracula from Luc Besson, the filmmaker known for polished extravagance. However, it’s worth noting: his opulently crafted romantic vampire tale boasts bold vision and flair – and with its B-movie charm, I might just favor over Eggers’s dignified recent take of Nosferatu. A few strange elements appear, such as a scene that looks like it presents a geographic divide between France and Romania.

The Veteran Actor as a Clever but Weary Vampire-Hunting Priest

Christoph Waltz portrays a clever but beleaguered cleric fighting vampires – it’s surprising he never took on this character previously – who arrives in Paris in 1889 during the centennial of the French Revolution. So does the evil Count Dracula, enacted by the expert in grotesque roles Caleb Landry Jones speaking in a twisted regional dialect reminiscent of Steve Carell’s Gru from the Despicable Me comedies. It’s a role suits him perfectly.

The Plot: A Saga of Heartbreak

The story is this: Dracula has traveled ceaselessly the globe in torment over four centuries after his transformation into a vampire, a penalty for his faithless sorrow following the loss of his spouse Elisabeta (a first film part for Zoë Bleu, the offspring of Rosanna Arquette). The count has been searching, searching, searching for a lady who would be the return of his deceased partner. Unfortunately, the chosen woman is revealed as Mina (also Bleu, of course), the reserved future wife of the count’s timid estate manager, Jonathan Harker (Ewens Abid), who lately visited to the count’s castle to review his property portfolio and the tiny painting of the winsome Mina attracted Dracula’s gaze.

Besson’s Handling and Lighthearted Touch

Besson structures Dracula’s second-act backstory of worldwide travels wearing flamboyant outfits confidently, and he is not above providing some comedy moments reminiscent of Mel Brooks – such as Dracula’s ongoing failed efforts to commit suicide after Elisabeta’s death, along with absurd moments that result after Dracula douses himself using a particular scent in historic Florence, that renders him unavoidably attractive to females. Ridiculous and watchable.

Dracula can be streamed online from 1 December and on DVD and Blu-ray from 22 December. It will be shown in Australian cinemas from 5 February 2026.