Dracula Movie Critique – Luc Besson’s Passionate Reimagining of the Timeless Gothic Tale is Outlandish but Watchable

Maybe audiences aren’t clamoring for an updated adaptation of Dracula from Luc Besson, the celebrated French director for stylish excess. And yet, it’s worth noting: his richly designed romantic vampire tale boasts bold vision and flair – and with its B-movie charm, 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 appears to show a land border between France and Romania.

Waltz as a Clever but Weary Clergyman Hunting Vampires

Christoph Waltz embodies a witty yet careworn cleric fighting vampires – I can’t believe he hasn’t played 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, enacted by the seasoned horror actor Caleb Landry Jones using a distorted Eastern European tone evoking Steve Carell’s Gru from the Despicable Me comedies. It’s a role that he too was born to take on.

The Story: A Saga of Heartbreak

Here’s the premise: the count has been restlessly roaming the world in anguish for hundreds of years since he became undead, a penalty for his faithless sorrow over the death of his beloved Elisabeta (a first film part for Zoë Bleu, Rosanna Arquette’s child). The count has looked tirelessly for some woman who would be the reincarnation of his lost love. As ill fortune would have it, the lucky lady turns out to be Mina (portrayed once more by Bleu), the demure fiancee of Dracula’s wimpish land agent, Jonathan Harker (Ewens Abid), who just traveled to Dracula’s fortress to negotiate his property portfolio and whose miniature portrait of the charming Mina attracted Dracula’s gaze.

The Filmmaker’s Approach and Humorous Style

Besson arranges Dracula’s flashback sequence of worldwide travels sporting extravagant attire skillfully, and he willingly includes providing humorous scenes reminiscent of Mel Brooks – for example the vampire’s constant unsuccessful tries to commit suicide post-Elisabeta’s demise, in addition to farcical scenes that occur when Dracula douses himself using a particular scent during the 1700s in Florence, which causes him to be unavoidably attractive to females. Outlandish but entertaining.

Dracula can be streamed online from 1 December and for physical purchase from December 22nd. It screens in Australian cinemas beginning on the fifth of February, 2026.