Dracula Review – Besson’s Love-Struck Reimagining of the Classic Horror Story is Absurd but Engaging

Maybe there is no great enthusiasm for a new version of Dracula from Luc Besson, the celebrated French director for polished extravagance. Still, one must admit: his opulently crafted romantic vampire tale boasts bold vision and flair – and with its B-movie charm, it could be preferable compared with Eggers’s dignified recent take of Nosferatu. Odd details emerge, such as a scene that appears to show a geographic divide between France and Romania.

The Veteran Actor as a Clever but Weary Clergyman Hunting Vampires

Christoph Waltz plays a humorous yet burdened vampire-hunting priest – it’s surprising he never took on this role before – who arrives in Paris in 1889 for the French Revolution centenary celebrations. So does the sinister Dracula, enacted by the expert in grotesque roles Caleb Landry Jones with a mangled central European accent evoking the voice of Gru by Steve Carell in the Despicable Me films. This is a part suits him perfectly.

The Story: A Saga of Heartbreak

Here’s the premise: the vampire lord has wandered endlessly the world in anguish for 400 years since he became undead, a punishment due to his blasphemous mourning over the death of his wife, Elisabeta (a first film part for Zoë Bleu, Rosanna Arquette’s child). Dracula has sought relentlessly for a female who could be the rebirth of his departed beloved. Unfortunately, the chosen woman proves to be Mina (also Bleu, of course), the reserved future wife of the count’s timid estate manager, Jonathan Harker (played by Ewens Abid), who has recently been to the count’s castle to negotiate his real estate holdings and whose miniature portrait of the charming Mina caught the count’s hooded eye.

Besson’s Direction and Humorous Style

Besson organizes Dracula’s flashback sequence of worldwide travels wearing flamboyant outfits confidently, and he doesn’t shy away from giving us funny bits in the style of Mel Brooks – like the count’s repeated and futile attempts to end his own life after Elisabeta’s death, as well as farcical scenes that follow Dracula sprays himself using a particular scent in historic Florence, which makes him unavoidably attractive to females. Outlandish but entertaining.

Dracula is available digitally starting December 1st and for physical purchase from 22 December. It plays in Australian cinemas starting February 5, 2026.