Dracula Movie Critique – Luc Besson’s Love-Struck Reimagining of the Timeless Gothic Tale is Ridiculous but Watchable

Perhaps there is no great enthusiasm for a fresh take of Dracula from Luc Besson, the filmmaker known for stylish excess. And yet, it’s worth noting: his lavishly upholstered romantic vampire tale boasts bold vision and flair – and with its B-movie charm, I might just favor over Robert Eggers’s recent, solemnly classy version of Nosferatu. There are some very bizarre touches, like a particular moment that looks like it presents a territorial boundary between France and Romania.

Waltz as a Humorously Exhausted Vampire-Hunting Priest

Christoph Waltz plays a witty yet careworn man of the church pursuing the undead – it feels natural for him to tackle such a part earlier – who ends up in Paris in 1889 during the centennial of the French Revolution. So does the sinister Dracula, brought to life by the expert in grotesque roles Caleb Landry Jones using a distorted Eastern European tone similar to Carell’s Gru character of the Despicable Me series. This is a part that he too was born to take on.

The Plot: A Tale of Love and Loss

Here’s the premise: the vampire lord has been restlessly roaming the world in sorrow for hundreds of years following his rise as one of the undead, a consequence for his faithless sorrow over the death of his spouse Elisabeta (a first film part for Zoë Bleu, Rosanna Arquette’s child). Dracula has sought relentlessly for a lady who would be the return of his deceased partner. By cruel fate, the fortunate female is revealed as Mina (again played by Bleu), the modest betrothed of Dracula’s wimpish land agent, Jonathan Harker (enacted by Ewens Abid), who just traveled to the vampire’s estate to negotiate his land assets and whose miniature portrait of the charming Mina drew the vampire’s attention.

Besson’s Handling and Comic Flair

Besson arranges Dracula’s middle-section history of worldwide travels sporting extravagant attire with a sure hand, and he is not above providing some comedy moments with a distinctly Mel Brooks flavour – such as Dracula’s ongoing failed efforts to kill himself post-Elisabeta’s demise, as well as absurd moments that follow Dracula applies to himself in a certain perfume during the 1700s in Florence, which causes him to be unavoidably attractive to females. Absurd yet engaging.

Dracula is on digital platforms starting December 1st and for physical purchase from 22 December. It will be shown in Australian cinemas starting February 5, 2026.