Dracula Review – The French Director’s Romantic Reinterpretation of the Classic Horror Story is Absurd but Watchable

It’s possible audiences aren’t clamoring for an updated adaptation of Dracula from Luc Besson, the celebrated French director for glossiness and bloat. Still, it has to be said: his lavishly upholstered romantic vampire tale boasts bold vision and flair – and in all its Hammer-y cheesiness, I’m not sure I wouldn’t prefer compared with the recent, stately interpretation by Robert Eggers of Nosferatu. Odd details emerge, such as a scene that seems to depict a land border between France and Romania.

Christoph Waltz as a Humorously Exhausted Vampire-Hunting Priest

Christoph Waltz portrays a humorous yet burdened man of the church pursuing the undead – it’s surprising he never took on this role before – who finds himself in Paris in 1889 to mark the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. The same goes for the malevolent vampire count, enacted by the expert in grotesque roles Caleb Landry Jones speaking in a twisted regional dialect similar to Steve Carell’s Gru from the Despicable Me comedies. This is a part suits him perfectly.

The Plot: A Chronicle of Longing

The plot unfolds as follows: Dracula has wandered endlessly the earth in sorrow for hundreds of years following his rise as one of the undead, a penalty for his irreligious grief after the passing of his beloved Elisabeta (an inaugural screen appearance for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). The count has sought relentlessly for a female who could be the reincarnation of his deceased partner. By cruel fate, 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 vampire’s estate to negotiate his land assets and the small picture of the charming Mina caught the count’s hooded eye.

Besson’s Handling and Comic Flair

Besson organizes Dracula’s middle-section history of global roaming sporting extravagant attire skillfully, and he willingly includes offering some comedy moments reminiscent of Mel Brooks – such as the count’s repeated and futile attempts to end his own life after Elisabeta’s death, in addition to absurd moments that occur when Dracula sprays himself with a specific fragrance in historic Florence, which causes him to be compelling to the opposite sex. Outlandish but entertaining.

Dracula can be streamed online beginning on the first of December and in disc format from 22 December. It will be shown in Australian cinemas beginning on the fifth of February, 2026.