Dracula Movie Critique – Luc Besson’s Romantic Revamp of the Classic Horror Story is Outlandish but Watchable

Maybe interest is limited for a new version of Dracula from Luc Besson, the filmmaker known for polished extravagance. However, one must admit: his opulently crafted vampire romance has ambition and panache – and in all its Hammer-y cheesiness, it could be preferable to it to Robert Eggers’s recent, solemnly classy version of Nosferatu. A few strange elements appear, like a particular moment that appears to show a territorial boundary between France and Romania.

Waltz as a Witty Yet Careworn Priest Tracking the Undead

Christoph Waltz plays a clever but beleaguered cleric fighting vampires – it’s surprising he never took on such a part earlier – who ends up in Paris in 1889 to mark the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. So does the evil Count Dracula, enacted by the expert in grotesque roles Caleb Landry Jones with a mangled central European accent reminiscent of Steve Carell’s Gru 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 wandered endlessly the world in sorrow for 400 years following his rise as one of the undead, a punishment for his irreligious grief after the passing of his spouse Elisabeta (a movie debut role for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). Dracula has looked tirelessly for a female who might be the reincarnation of his departed beloved. As ill fortune would have it, the chosen woman is revealed as Mina (portrayed once more by Bleu), the modest betrothed of Dracula’s feeble property handler, Jonathan Harker (Ewens Abid), who just traveled to the count’s castle to discuss his real estate holdings and the small picture of the lovely Mina caught the count’s hooded eye.

Besson’s Direction and Humorous Style

Besson structures Dracula’s flashback sequence of worldwide travels in various outrageous costumes confidently, and he doesn’t shy away from giving us humorous scenes reminiscent of Mel Brooks – such as Dracula’s ongoing failed efforts to end his own life post-Elisabeta’s demise, in addition to absurd moments that result after Dracula douses himself using a particular scent during the 1700s in Florence, that renders him compelling to the opposite sex. Ridiculous and watchable.

Dracula can be streamed online starting December 1st and on DVD and Blu-ray from December 22nd. It will be shown in Australian cinemas starting February 5, 2026.