Dracula Review – Luc Besson’s Romantic Revamp of the Gothic Classic is Ridiculous but Watchable

Perhaps interest is limited for a new version of Dracula from Luc Besson, the French maestro for glossiness and bloat. And yet, it has to be said: his opulently crafted love story with vampires boasts bold vision and flair – and amid its theatrical camp, I’m not sure I wouldn’t prefer to it to Robert Eggers’s recent, solemnly classy version of Nosferatu. Odd details emerge, such as a scene that looks like it presents a land border between France and Romania.

Christoph Waltz as a Clever but Weary Priest Tracking the Undead

Christoph Waltz plays a clever but beleaguered man of the church pursuing the undead – it’s surprising he never took on such a part earlier – who finds himself in Paris in 1889 for the French Revolution centenary celebrations. The same goes for the evil Count Dracula, brought to life by the seasoned horror actor Caleb Landry Jones speaking in a twisted regional dialect evoking Carell’s Gru character in the Despicable Me films. It’s a role that he too was born to take on.

The Plot: A Chronicle of Longing

The plot unfolds as follows: the vampire lord has been restlessly roaming the world in torment for hundreds of years since he became undead, a punishment due to his blasphemous mourning following the loss of his beloved Elisabeta (a movie debut role for Zoë Bleu, the offspring of Rosanna Arquette). The count has looked tirelessly for a female who could be the return of his deceased partner. As ill fortune would have it, the fortunate female is revealed as Mina (portrayed once more by Bleu), the modest betrothed of Dracula’s wimpish land agent, Jonathan Harker (Ewens Abid), who just traveled to the vampire’s estate to negotiate his real estate holdings and the small picture of the charming Mina drew the vampire’s attention.

The Filmmaker’s Approach and Lighthearted Touch

Besson arranges Dracula’s second-act backstory of worldwide travels sporting extravagant attire confidently, and he doesn’t shy away from offering some comedy moments reminiscent of Mel Brooks – for example Dracula’s ongoing failed efforts to commit suicide after Elisabeta’s death, in addition to comical sequences that occur when Dracula douses himself with a specific fragrance in historic Florence, which causes him to be compelling to the opposite sex. Ridiculous and watchable.

Dracula is on digital platforms beginning on the first of December and on DVD and Blu-ray from December 22nd. It plays in Australian cinemas beginning on the fifth of February, 2026.