Dracula Review – The French Director’s Love-Struck Reimagining of the Classic Horror Story is Outlandish but Entertaining

Perhaps interest is limited for a new version of Dracula from Luc Besson, the French maestro for stylish excess. Still, it’s worth noting: his opulently crafted vampire romance boasts bold vision and flair – and amid its theatrical camp, it could be preferable over Robert Eggers’s recent, solemnly classy version of Nosferatu. There are some very bizarre touches, such as a scene that seems to depict a territorial boundary between France and Romania.

The Veteran Actor as a Clever but Weary Priest Tracking the Undead

Christoph Waltz portrays a humorous yet burdened man of the church pursuing the undead – it feels natural for him to tackle this role before – who arrives in Paris in 1889 for the French Revolution centenary celebrations. Likewise present is the malevolent vampire count, brought to life by the seasoned horror actor Caleb Landry Jones using a distorted Eastern European tone similar to Carell’s Gru character of the Despicable Me series. This is a part suits him perfectly.

The Story: A Chronicle of Longing

Here’s the premise: Dracula has wandered endlessly the world in sorrow for hundreds of years following his rise as one of the undead, a penalty due to his blasphemous mourning following the loss of his spouse Elisabeta (a first film part for Zoë Bleu, Rosanna Arquette’s child). The count has looked tirelessly for a female who might be the rebirth of his lost love. Unfortunately, the chosen woman is revealed as Mina (portrayed once more by Bleu), the demure fiancee of Dracula’s feeble property handler, Jonathan Harker (Ewens Abid), who lately visited to the count’s castle to review his real estate holdings and whose miniature portrait of the winsome Mina attracted Dracula’s gaze.

The Filmmaker’s Approach and Comic Flair

Besson structures Dracula’s middle-section history of worldwide travels wearing flamboyant outfits confidently, and he willingly includes providing funny bits in the style of Mel Brooks – like Dracula’s ongoing failed efforts to end his own life post-Elisabeta’s demise, along with comical sequences that result after Dracula applies to himself with a specific fragrance in 18th-century 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 from 5 February 2026.