It’s possible there is no great enthusiasm for a fresh take of Dracula from Luc Besson, the French maestro for stylish excess. Still, it has to be said: his lavishly upholstered love story with vampires boasts bold vision and flair – and amid its theatrical camp, I might just favor over Robert Eggers’s recent, solemnly classy version of Nosferatu. A few strange elements appear, like a particular moment that looks like it presents a geographic divide between France and Romania.
Christoph Waltz embodies a witty yet careworn vampire-hunting priest – it’s surprising he never took on this character previously – who ends up in Paris in 1889 during the centennial of the French Revolution. Likewise present is the evil Count Dracula, brought to life by the seasoned horror actor Caleb Landry Jones speaking in a twisted regional dialect reminiscent of Steve Carell’s Gru in the Despicable Me films. This character that he too was born to take on.
The plot unfolds as follows: Dracula has wandered endlessly the globe in torment for 400 years since he became undead, a consequence for his faithless sorrow after the passing of his beloved Elisabeta (a movie debut role for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). The count has looked tirelessly for some woman who could be the reincarnation of his deceased partner. As ill fortune would have it, the lucky lady is revealed as Mina (also Bleu, of course), the reserved future wife of Dracula’s wimpish land agent, Jonathan Harker (played by Ewens Abid), who lately visited to Dracula’s fortress to negotiate his real estate holdings and the small picture of the charming Mina attracted Dracula’s gaze.
Besson arranges Dracula’s second-act backstory of global roaming sporting extravagant attire skillfully, and he willingly includes providing some comedy moments reminiscent of Mel Brooks – like the count’s repeated and futile attempts to kill himself post-Elisabeta’s demise, along with absurd moments that follow Dracula sprays himself in a certain perfume in 18th-century Florence, which makes him irresistible to women. Ridiculous and watchable.
Dracula can be streamed online beginning on the first of December and for physical purchase starting the twenty-second of December. It will be shown in Australian cinemas from 5 February 2026.
Elara is a passionate writer and photographer who shares insights on creativity and mindful living through engaging storytelling.
