Dracula Movie Critique – The French Director’s Romantic Revamp 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 stylish excess. And yet, one must admit: his opulently crafted romantic vampire tale boasts bold vision and flair – and in all its Hammer-y cheesiness, it could be preferable compared with the recent, stately interpretation by Robert Eggers of Nosferatu. Odd details emerge, like a particular moment that looks like it presents a land border between France and Romania.

The Veteran Actor as a Clever but Weary Vampire-Hunting Priest

Christoph Waltz portrays a witty yet careworn vampire-hunting priest – I can’t believe he hasn’t played this role before – who ends up in Paris in 1889 during the centennial of the French Revolution. So does the sinister Dracula, brought to life 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. It’s a role that he too was born to take on.

The Plot: A Tale of Love and Loss

The plot unfolds as follows: the vampire lord has been restlessly roaming the world in sorrow over four centuries after his transformation into a vampire, a penalty due to his blasphemous mourning over the death of his beloved Elisabeta (an inaugural screen appearance for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). Dracula has been searching, searching, searching for a lady who would be the reincarnation of his lost love. Unfortunately, the lucky lady proves to be Mina (also Bleu, of course), the demure fiancee of Dracula’s wimpish land agent, Jonathan Harker (Ewens Abid), who lately visited to the count’s castle to review his land assets and the tiny painting of the charming Mina caught the count’s hooded eye.

Besson’s Direction and Comic Flair

Besson arranges Dracula’s second-act backstory of global roaming in various outrageous costumes skillfully, and he is not above giving us some comedy moments with a distinctly Mel Brooks flavour – like the vampire’s constant unsuccessful tries to end his own life following Elisabeta’s passing, along with farcical scenes that result after Dracula douses himself in a certain perfume during the 1700s in Florence, which makes him irresistible to women. Outlandish but entertaining.

Dracula is available digitally starting December 1st and for physical purchase starting the twenty-second of December. It screens in Australian cinemas starting February 5, 2026.