Dracula Movie Critique – Besson’s Passionate Revamp of the Timeless Gothic Tale is Outlandish but Engaging

Maybe there is no great enthusiasm for a new version of Dracula from Luc Besson, the filmmaker known for stylish excess. However, it’s worth noting: his lavishly upholstered romantic vampire tale displays creativity and style – and in all its Hammer-y cheesiness, it could be preferable over the recent, stately interpretation by Robert Eggers of Nosferatu. There are some very bizarre touches, like a particular moment that seems to depict a territorial boundary between France and Romania.

Waltz as a Humorously Exhausted Vampire-Hunting Priest

Christoph Waltz portrays a witty yet careworn man of the church pursuing the undead – I can’t believe he hasn’t played this character previously – who ends up in Paris in 1889 to mark the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. Likewise present is the malevolent vampire count, played by the expert in grotesque roles Caleb Landry Jones with a mangled central European accent similar to Carell’s Gru character in the Despicable Me films. This is a part he seemed destined to play.

The Plot: A Tale of Love and Loss

The plot unfolds as follows: Dracula has been restlessly roaming the world in anguish for hundreds of years following his rise as one of the undead, a consequence for his faithless sorrow after the passing of his spouse Elisabeta (a movie debut role for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). The count has sought relentlessly for a lady who would be the return of his lost love. As ill fortune would have it, the lucky lady proves to be Mina (again played by Bleu), the modest betrothed of Dracula’s wimpish land agent, Jonathan Harker (played by Ewens Abid), who just traveled to the vampire’s estate to review his property portfolio and whose miniature portrait of the charming Mina attracted Dracula’s gaze.

Besson’s Handling and Humorous Style

Besson organizes Dracula’s flashback sequence of international journeys wearing flamboyant outfits with a sure hand, and he is not above giving us funny bits in the style of Mel Brooks – like Dracula’s ongoing failed efforts to kill himself following Elisabeta’s passing, along with comical sequences that follow Dracula sprays himself with a specific fragrance during the 1700s in Florence, that renders him irresistible to women. Ridiculous and watchable.

Dracula is on digital platforms beginning on the first of December and on DVD and Blu-ray from December 22nd. It screens in Australian cinemas from 5 February 2026.