Dracula Review – Besson’s Love-Struck Reimagining of the Gothic Classic is Outlandish but Entertaining

Maybe interest is limited for an updated adaptation of Dracula from Luc Besson, the celebrated French director for polished extravagance. And yet, it’s worth noting: his lavishly upholstered love story with vampires displays creativity and style – and with its B-movie charm, I’m not sure I wouldn’t prefer compared with Eggers’s dignified recent take of Nosferatu. There are some very bizarre touches, such as a scene that appears to show a geographic divide between France and Romania.

Christoph Waltz as a Humorously Exhausted Vampire-Hunting Priest

Christoph Waltz embodies a humorous yet burdened cleric fighting vampires – it’s surprising he never took on this character previously – who finds himself in Paris in 1889 to mark the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. Likewise present is the evil Count Dracula, enacted by the expert in grotesque roles Caleb Landry Jones using a distorted Eastern European tone reminiscent of Steve Carell’s Gru of the Despicable Me series. It’s a role he seemed destined to play.

The Plot: A Saga of Heartbreak

The story is this: the count has traveled ceaselessly the earth in anguish for 400 years after his transformation into a vampire, a punishment for his faithless sorrow over the death of his wife, Elisabeta (an inaugural screen appearance for Zoë Bleu, the offspring of Rosanna Arquette). Dracula has been searching, searching, searching for a lady who might be the rebirth of his deceased partner. Unfortunately, the fortunate female proves to be Mina (again played by Bleu), the modest betrothed of the count’s timid estate manager, Jonathan Harker (Ewens Abid), who lately visited to the count’s castle to negotiate his property portfolio and the small picture of the winsome Mina caught the count’s hooded eye.

Besson’s Direction and Lighthearted Touch

Besson arranges Dracula’s second-act backstory of worldwide travels sporting extravagant attire skillfully, and he is not above giving us some comedy moments with a distinctly Mel Brooks flavour – for example the count’s repeated and futile attempts to kill himself following Elisabeta’s passing, along with absurd moments that follow Dracula applies to himself using a particular scent in historic Florence, which makes him irresistible to women. Absurd yet engaging.

Dracula is on digital platforms starting December 1st and for physical purchase starting the twenty-second of December. It will be shown in Australian cinemas starting February 5, 2026.