Dracula Review – Luc Besson’s Romantic Reimagining of the Classic Horror Story is Outlandish but Entertaining

It’s possible there is no great enthusiasm for an updated adaptation of Dracula from Luc Besson, the filmmaker known for stylish excess. And yet, it’s worth noting: his richly designed romantic vampire tale displays creativity and style – and with its B-movie charm, I might just favor to it to Eggers’s dignified recent take of Nosferatu. Odd details emerge, such as a scene that seems to depict a territorial boundary between France and Romania.

The Veteran Actor as a Clever but Weary Vampire-Hunting Priest

Christoph Waltz embodies a clever but beleaguered man of the church pursuing the undead – it’s surprising he never took on this character previously – who arrives in Paris in 1889 to mark the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. So does the malevolent vampire count, played by the expert in grotesque roles Caleb Landry Jones using a distorted Eastern European tone reminiscent of Carell’s Gru character in the Despicable Me films. This is a part that he too was born to take on.

The Story: A Chronicle of Longing

Here’s the premise: Dracula has traveled ceaselessly the earth in torment for hundreds of years after his transformation into a vampire, a consequence for his irreligious grief over the death of his beloved Elisabeta (a first film part for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). Dracula has sought relentlessly for a female who would be the return of his departed beloved. By cruel fate, the lucky lady proves to be Mina (also Bleu, of course), the demure fiancee of the count’s timid estate manager, Jonathan Harker (played by Ewens Abid), who lately visited to the vampire’s estate to discuss his property portfolio and the small picture of the lovely Mina caught the count’s hooded eye.

Besson’s Handling and Humorous Style

Besson structures Dracula’s flashback sequence of global roaming wearing flamboyant outfits confidently, and he doesn’t shy away from providing humorous scenes reminiscent of Mel Brooks – for example the count’s repeated and futile attempts to commit suicide after Elisabeta’s death, as well as absurd moments that occur when Dracula sprays himself with a specific fragrance during the 1700s in Florence, that renders him unavoidably attractive to females. Outlandish but entertaining.

Dracula is on digital platforms beginning on the first of December and in disc format from 22 December. It plays in Australian cinemas beginning on the fifth of February, 2026.