Dracula Movie Critique – Luc Besson’s Passionate Revamp of the Gothic Classic is Ridiculous but Entertaining

Perhaps there is no great enthusiasm for an updated adaptation of Dracula from Luc Besson, the French maestro for polished extravagance. However, one must admit: his richly designed romantic vampire tale displays creativity and style – and in all its Hammer-y cheesiness, I’m not sure I wouldn’t prefer over Robert Eggers’s recent, solemnly classy version of Nosferatu. A few strange elements appear, including one shot that appears to show a land border between France and Romania.

Christoph Waltz as a Witty Yet Careworn Vampire-Hunting Priest

Christoph Waltz plays a humorous yet burdened man of the church pursuing the undead – it feels natural for him to tackle this role before – who arrives in Paris in 1889 during the centennial of the French Revolution. The same goes for the evil Count Dracula, brought to life by the seasoned horror actor Caleb Landry Jones with a mangled central European accent reminiscent of Steve Carell’s Gru of the Despicable Me series. It’s a role that he too was born to take on.

The Plot: A Tale of Love and Loss

Here’s the premise: the count has wandered endlessly the globe in torment for hundreds of years after his transformation into a vampire, a punishment for his irreligious grief after the passing of his wife, Elisabeta (a first film part for Zoë Bleu, Rosanna Arquette’s child). Dracula has been searching, searching, searching for a female who could be the reincarnation of his departed beloved. By cruel fate, the lucky lady proves to be Mina (again played by Bleu), the reserved future wife of Dracula’s feeble property handler, Jonathan Harker (enacted by Ewens Abid), who lately visited to the count’s castle to negotiate his property portfolio and the small picture of the lovely Mina attracted Dracula’s gaze.

The Filmmaker’s Approach and Humorous Style

Besson structures Dracula’s middle-section history of worldwide travels wearing flamboyant outfits skillfully, and he doesn’t shy away from providing funny bits reminiscent of Mel Brooks – like Dracula’s ongoing failed efforts to kill himself following Elisabeta’s passing, as well as comical sequences that follow Dracula sprays himself in a certain perfume in historic Florence, that renders him irresistible to women. Outlandish but entertaining.

Dracula can be streamed online from 1 December and for physical purchase from December 22nd. It will be shown in Australian cinemas from 5 February 2026.