Dracula Movie Critique – The French Director’s Passionate Reinterpretation of the Classic Horror Story is Absurd but Engaging

It’s possible interest is limited for an updated adaptation of Dracula from Luc Besson, the French maestro for polished extravagance. And yet, it has to be said: his richly designed love story with vampires boasts bold vision and flair – and with its B-movie charm, it could be preferable compared with Eggers’s dignified recent take of Nosferatu. There are some very bizarre touches, including one shot that seems to depict a land border between France and Romania.

Christoph Waltz as a Humorously Exhausted Clergyman Hunting Vampires

Christoph Waltz embodies a witty yet careworn cleric fighting vampires – it’s surprising he never took on this role before – who finds himself in Paris in 1889 to mark the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. The same goes for the sinister Dracula, brought to life by the seasoned horror actor Caleb Landry Jones using a distorted Eastern European tone reminiscent of Carell’s Gru character of the Despicable Me series. This character suits him perfectly.

The Plot: A Tale of Love and Loss

The story is this: the vampire lord has traveled ceaselessly the globe in torment for 400 years following his rise as one of the undead, a penalty due to his blasphemous mourning after the passing of his spouse Elisabeta (a movie debut role for Zoë Bleu, Rosanna Arquette’s child). Dracula has been searching, searching, searching for some woman who could be the return of his departed beloved. As ill fortune would have it, the fortunate female turns out to be Mina (portrayed once more by Bleu), the demure fiancee of Dracula’s feeble property handler, Jonathan Harker (Ewens Abid), who just traveled to the count’s castle to review his land assets and whose miniature portrait of the lovely Mina caught the count’s hooded eye.

Besson’s Direction and Lighthearted Touch

Besson structures Dracula’s second-act backstory of global roaming in various outrageous costumes skillfully, and he willingly includes offering funny bits with a distinctly Mel Brooks flavour – like Dracula’s ongoing failed efforts to kill himself after Elisabeta’s death, in addition to farcical scenes that occur when Dracula douses himself with a specific fragrance in historic Florence, which causes him to be irresistible to women. Absurd yet engaging.

Dracula can be streamed online beginning on the first of December and in disc format from December 22nd. It screens in Australian cinemas from 5 February 2026.