Dracula Movie Critique – Luc Besson’s Passionate Revamp of the Gothic Classic is Absurd but Watchable
Maybe there is no great enthusiasm for an updated adaptation of Dracula from Luc Besson, the filmmaker known for polished extravagance. And yet, it’s worth noting: his richly designed vampire romance boasts bold vision and flair – and amid its theatrical camp, I’m not sure I wouldn’t prefer to it to Robert Eggers’s recent, solemnly classy version of Nosferatu. Odd details emerge, including one shot that seems to depict a territorial boundary between France and Romania.
Waltz as a Humorously Exhausted Vampire-Hunting Priest
Christoph Waltz plays a clever but beleaguered man of the church pursuing the undead – I can’t believe he hasn’t played such a part earlier – who arrives in Paris in 1889 to mark the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. The same goes for the sinister Dracula, played by the expert in grotesque roles Caleb Landry Jones speaking in a twisted regional dialect similar to Carell’s Gru character from the Despicable Me comedies. It’s a role suits him perfectly.
The Plot: A Tale of Love and Loss
The plot unfolds as follows: the vampire lord has wandered endlessly the world in anguish for 400 years since he became undead, a penalty for his faithless sorrow after the passing of his spouse Elisabeta (a first film part for Zoë Bleu, the offspring of Rosanna Arquette). the vampire has sought relentlessly for a lady who would be the return of his departed beloved. As ill fortune would have it, the fortunate female is revealed as Mina (portrayed once more by Bleu), the reserved future wife of Dracula’s feeble property handler, Jonathan Harker (played by Ewens Abid), who has recently been to the count’s castle to discuss his land assets and the tiny painting of the charming Mina drew the vampire’s attention.
Besson’s Direction and Lighthearted Touch
Besson arranges Dracula’s middle-section history of international journeys sporting extravagant attire skillfully, and he doesn’t shy away from providing humorous scenes reminiscent of Mel Brooks – like the count’s repeated and futile attempts to commit suicide after Elisabeta’s death, along with farcical scenes that result after Dracula douses himself with a specific fragrance in 18th-century Florence, that renders him unavoidably attractive to females. Outlandish but entertaining.
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.
