Dracula Review – Luc Besson’s Romantic Revamp of the Gothic Classic is Outlandish but Watchable

It’s possible audiences aren’t clamoring for a new version of Dracula from Luc Besson, the filmmaker known for polished extravagance. However, it’s worth noting: his lavishly upholstered romantic vampire tale boasts bold vision and flair – and with its B-movie charm, I might just favor to it to Robert Eggers’s recent, solemnly classy version of Nosferatu. Odd details emerge, such as a scene that appears to show a territorial boundary between France and Romania.

The Veteran Actor as a Humorously Exhausted Vampire-Hunting Priest

Christoph Waltz embodies a witty yet careworn man of the church pursuing the undead – it feels natural for him to tackle this role before – who ends up in Paris in 1889 during the centennial of the French Revolution. Likewise present is the malevolent vampire count, played by the expert in grotesque roles Caleb Landry Jones using a distorted Eastern European tone evoking Steve Carell’s Gru in the Despicable Me films. This is a part suits him perfectly.

The Plot: A Saga of Heartbreak

Here’s the premise: Dracula has wandered endlessly the globe in anguish for hundreds of years following his rise as one of the undead, a punishment due to his blasphemous mourning after the passing of his beloved Elisabeta (an inaugural screen appearance for Zoë Bleu, the offspring of Rosanna Arquette). the vampire has sought relentlessly for some woman who could be the rebirth of his departed beloved. By cruel fate, the fortunate female proves to be Mina (portrayed once more by Bleu), the demure fiancee of the count’s timid estate manager, Jonathan Harker (played by Ewens Abid), who has recently been to the vampire’s estate to review his real estate holdings and whose miniature portrait of the winsome Mina caught the count’s hooded eye.

The Filmmaker’s Approach and Lighthearted Touch

Besson arranges Dracula’s flashback sequence of global roaming wearing flamboyant outfits skillfully, and he willingly includes giving us funny bits reminiscent of Mel Brooks – like the vampire’s constant unsuccessful tries to kill himself post-Elisabeta’s demise, as well as farcical scenes that occur when Dracula douses himself using a particular scent in 18th-century Florence, which causes him to be unavoidably attractive to females. Outlandish but entertaining.

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