Dracula Review – Luc Besson’s Love-Struck Revamp of the Timeless Gothic Tale is Outlandish but Entertaining

Perhaps there is no great enthusiasm for a new version of Dracula from Luc Besson, the French maestro for polished extravagance. Still, it’s worth noting: his opulently crafted love story with vampires displays creativity and style – and in all its Hammer-y cheesiness, it could be preferable compared with Robert Eggers’s recent, solemnly classy version of Nosferatu. A few strange elements appear, such as a scene that appears to show a geographic divide between France and Romania.

The Veteran Actor as a Witty Yet Careworn Clergyman Hunting Vampires

Christoph Waltz embodies a humorous yet burdened man of the church pursuing the undead – it feels natural for him to tackle such a part earlier – who arrives in Paris in 1889 to mark the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. Likewise present is the malevolent vampire count, played by the expert in grotesque roles Caleb Landry Jones speaking in a twisted regional dialect evoking Steve Carell’s Gru of the Despicable Me series. This is a part he seemed destined to play.

The Story: A Tale of Love and Loss

Here’s the premise: Dracula has wandered endlessly the world in torment for 400 years following his rise as one of the undead, a punishment for his faithless sorrow following the loss of his spouse Elisabeta (an inaugural screen appearance for Zoë Bleu, Rosanna Arquette’s child). The count has been searching, searching, searching for a lady who would be the reincarnation of his lost love. By cruel fate, the fortunate female proves to be Mina (portrayed once more by Bleu), the demure fiancee of Dracula’s feeble property handler, Jonathan Harker (Ewens Abid), who just traveled to the count’s castle to review his land assets and the small picture of the charming Mina caught the count’s hooded eye.

Besson’s Direction and Humorous Style

Besson organizes Dracula’s second-act backstory of global roaming sporting extravagant attire confidently, and he willingly includes giving us humorous scenes reminiscent of Mel Brooks – for example the vampire’s constant unsuccessful tries to end his own life post-Elisabeta’s demise, along with absurd moments that occur when Dracula applies to himself in a certain perfume in historic Florence, which makes him irresistible to women. Absurd yet engaging.

Dracula can be streamed online starting December 1st and in disc format from December 22nd. It screens in Australian cinemas beginning on the fifth of February, 2026.