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

Maybe there is no great enthusiasm for a fresh take of Dracula from Luc Besson, the French maestro for stylish excess. And yet, one must admit: his lavishly upholstered 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. There are some very bizarre touches, like a particular moment that seems to depict a geographic divide between France and Romania.

The Veteran Actor as a Witty Yet Careworn Clergyman Hunting Vampires

Christoph Waltz plays a humorous yet burdened vampire-hunting priest – it’s surprising he never took on such a part earlier – who arrives in Paris in 1889 for the French Revolution centenary celebrations. The same goes for the sinister Dracula, enacted 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 suits him perfectly.

The Story: A Saga of Heartbreak

The story is this: Dracula has wandered endlessly the world in sorrow over four centuries after his transformation into a vampire, a consequence for his faithless sorrow after the passing of his beloved Elisabeta (a first film part for Zoë Bleu, Rosanna Arquette’s child). The count has sought relentlessly for some woman who would be the return of his lost love. By cruel fate, the lucky lady proves to be Mina (also Bleu, of course), the modest betrothed of Dracula’s wimpish land agent, Jonathan Harker (played by Ewens Abid), who just traveled to Dracula’s fortress to review his property portfolio and the small picture of the lovely Mina attracted Dracula’s gaze.

The Filmmaker’s Approach and Comic Flair

Besson organizes Dracula’s second-act backstory of international journeys in various outrageous costumes confidently, and he willingly includes providing some comedy moments with a distinctly Mel Brooks flavour – like the count’s repeated and futile attempts to commit suicide post-Elisabeta’s demise, along with farcical scenes that follow Dracula applies to himself using a particular scent during the 1700s in Florence, which causes him to be compelling to the opposite sex. Outlandish but entertaining.

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