Dracula Movie Critique – Besson’s Love-Struck Reinterpretation of the Gothic Classic is Absurd but Engaging

Maybe interest is limited for an updated adaptation of Dracula from Luc Besson, the French maestro for polished extravagance. Still, it has to be said: his lavishly upholstered romantic vampire tale displays creativity and style – and in all its Hammer-y cheesiness, it could be preferable to it to Eggers’s dignified recent take of Nosferatu. A few strange elements appear, such as a scene that appears to show a geographic divide between France and Romania.

Waltz as a Witty Yet Careworn Clergyman Hunting Vampires

Christoph Waltz plays a humorous yet burdened cleric fighting vampires – it’s surprising he never took on this role before – who finds himself in Paris in 1889 during the centennial of the French Revolution. So does the evil Count Dracula, brought to life by the body-horror veteran Caleb Landry Jones using a distorted Eastern European tone similar to Steve Carell’s Gru in the Despicable Me films. This character suits him perfectly.

The Plot: A Chronicle of Longing

The story is this: the vampire lord has traveled ceaselessly the world in anguish over four centuries following his rise as one of the undead, a punishment for his irreligious grief following the loss of his spouse Elisabeta (an inaugural screen appearance for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). The count has sought relentlessly for some woman who would be the reincarnation of his lost love. Unfortunately, the lucky lady is revealed as Mina (again played by Bleu), the modest betrothed of Dracula’s wimpish land agent, Jonathan Harker (played by Ewens Abid), who has recently been to Dracula’s fortress to discuss his land assets and the small picture of the charming Mina drew the vampire’s attention.

The Filmmaker’s Approach and Comic Flair

Besson organizes Dracula’s second-act backstory of global roaming sporting extravagant attire skillfully, and he is not above giving us some comedy moments in the style of Mel Brooks – for example the count’s repeated and futile attempts to kill himself post-Elisabeta’s demise, along with absurd moments that result after Dracula douses himself in a certain perfume in historic Florence, which makes him unavoidably attractive to females. Absurd yet engaging.

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