Dracula Review – Besson’s Romantic Reinterpretation of the Gothic Classic is Absurd but Entertaining

Maybe interest is limited for an updated adaptation of Dracula from Luc Besson, the celebrated French director for glossiness and bloat. However, one must admit: his opulently crafted romantic vampire tale has ambition and panache – and amid its theatrical camp, I’m not sure I wouldn’t prefer over the recent, stately interpretation by Robert Eggers of Nosferatu. There are some very bizarre touches, like a particular moment that appears to show a territorial boundary between France and Romania.

Christoph Waltz as a Humorously Exhausted Priest Tracking the Undead

Christoph Waltz embodies a clever but beleaguered vampire-hunting priest – I can’t believe he hasn’t played this role before – who arrives in Paris in 1889 during the centennial of the French Revolution. Likewise present is the sinister Dracula, brought to life by the expert in grotesque roles Caleb Landry Jones using a distorted Eastern European tone similar to the voice of Gru by Steve Carell in the Despicable Me films. It’s a role suits him perfectly.

The Plot: A Chronicle of Longing

The plot unfolds as follows: the vampire lord has been restlessly roaming the globe in sorrow for 400 years since he became undead, a consequence for his irreligious grief following the loss of his wife, Elisabeta (a movie debut role for Zoë Bleu, Rosanna Arquette’s child). The count has looked tirelessly for some woman who would be the return of his departed beloved. As ill fortune would have it, the lucky lady proves to be Mina (again played by Bleu), the modest betrothed of the count’s timid estate manager, Jonathan Harker (played by Ewens Abid), who lately visited to Dracula’s fortress to negotiate his land assets and whose miniature portrait of the winsome Mina attracted Dracula’s gaze.

Besson’s Direction and Comic Flair

Besson organizes Dracula’s flashback sequence of worldwide travels wearing flamboyant outfits with a sure hand, and he willingly includes giving us humorous scenes with a distinctly Mel Brooks flavour – such as the vampire’s constant unsuccessful tries to end his own life after Elisabeta’s death, along with farcical scenes that occur when Dracula sprays himself with a specific fragrance in historic Florence, which makes him irresistible to women. Absurd yet engaging.

Dracula is on digital platforms from 1 December and for physical purchase from December 22nd. It plays in Australian cinemas from 5 February 2026.