Dracula Review – Besson’s Passionate Reimagining of the Gothic Classic is Ridiculous but Entertaining

Perhaps interest is limited for an updated adaptation of Dracula from Luc Besson, the French maestro for polished extravagance. Still, one must admit: his lavishly upholstered vampire romance displays creativity and style – and in all its Hammer-y cheesiness, I’m not sure I wouldn’t prefer over Robert Eggers’s recent, solemnly classy version of Nosferatu. There are some very bizarre touches, including one shot that looks like it presents a geographic divide between France and Romania.

The Veteran Actor as a Witty Yet Careworn Priest Tracking the Undead

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 ends up in Paris in 1889 for the French Revolution centenary celebrations. Likewise present is the evil Count Dracula, played by the expert in grotesque roles Caleb Landry Jones with a mangled central European accent evoking Steve Carell’s Gru of the Despicable Me series. This is a part he seemed destined to play.

The Plot: A Chronicle of Longing

Here’s the premise: Dracula has been restlessly roaming the world in sorrow for hundreds of years after his transformation into a vampire, a consequence for his faithless sorrow following the loss of his beloved Elisabeta (a movie debut role for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). The count has sought relentlessly for a female who could be the reincarnation of his departed beloved. As ill fortune would have it, the lucky lady turns out to be 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 review his property portfolio and the tiny painting of the winsome Mina drew the vampire’s attention.

Besson’s Handling and Humorous Style

Besson arranges Dracula’s middle-section history of worldwide travels sporting extravagant attire confidently, and he doesn’t shy away from providing some comedy moments with a distinctly Mel Brooks flavour – like Dracula’s ongoing failed efforts to kill himself following Elisabeta’s passing, along with absurd moments that follow Dracula sprays himself with a specific fragrance in historic Florence, that renders him irresistible to women. Ridiculous and watchable.

Dracula is on digital platforms starting December 1st and in disc format from 22 December. It plays in Australian cinemas from 5 February 2026.