Dracula Review – The French Director’s Love-Struck Reimagining of the Gothic Classic is Outlandish but Watchable

It’s possible there is no great enthusiasm for a new version of Dracula from Luc Besson, the celebrated French director for glossiness and bloat. Still, one must admit: his opulently crafted love story with vampires has ambition and panache – and with its B-movie charm, it could be preferable compared with Eggers’s dignified recent take of Nosferatu. A few strange elements appear, like a particular moment that appears to show a land border between France and Romania.

Waltz as a Humorously Exhausted Vampire-Hunting Priest

Christoph Waltz plays a witty yet careworn cleric fighting vampires – I can’t believe he hasn’t played this role before – who ends up in Paris in 1889 for the French Revolution centenary celebrations. The same goes for the sinister Dracula, enacted by the seasoned horror actor Caleb Landry Jones using a distorted Eastern European tone reminiscent of the voice of Gru by Steve Carell in the Despicable Me films. This character suits him perfectly.

The Plot: A Saga of Heartbreak

The story is this: the vampire lord has traveled ceaselessly the globe in anguish for hundreds of years since he became undead, a punishment for his irreligious grief over the death of his spouse Elisabeta (a first film part for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). The count has been searching, searching, searching for a lady who could be the return of his lost love. As ill fortune would have it, the fortunate female turns out to be Mina (portrayed once more by Bleu), the modest betrothed of Dracula’s wimpish land agent, Jonathan Harker (enacted by Ewens Abid), who has recently been to the vampire’s estate to negotiate his property portfolio and the tiny painting of the lovely Mina attracted Dracula’s gaze.

Besson’s Handling and Comic Flair

Besson organizes Dracula’s flashback sequence of international journeys sporting extravagant attire skillfully, and he doesn’t shy away from offering humorous scenes reminiscent of Mel Brooks – like the count’s repeated and futile attempts to end his own life after Elisabeta’s death, as well as absurd moments that result after Dracula douses himself in a certain perfume in historic Florence, which makes him unavoidably attractive to females. Outlandish but entertaining.

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