Dracula Review – Luc Besson’s Romantic Reinterpretation of the Timeless Gothic Tale is Outlandish but Watchable

It’s possible there is no great enthusiasm for an updated adaptation of Dracula from Luc Besson, the French maestro for glossiness and bloat. And yet, it has to be said: his lavishly upholstered vampire romance displays creativity and style – and in all its Hammer-y cheesiness, I’m not sure I wouldn’t prefer to it to the recent, stately interpretation by Robert Eggers of Nosferatu. A few strange elements appear, including one shot that looks like it presents a land border between France and Romania.

Christoph Waltz as a Humorously Exhausted Priest Tracking the Undead

Christoph Waltz plays a clever but beleaguered 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. Likewise present is the sinister Dracula, enacted by the body-horror veteran Caleb Landry Jones with a mangled central European accent reminiscent of Steve Carell’s Gru in the Despicable Me films. This is a part suits him perfectly.

The Narrative: A Tale of Love and Loss

Here’s the premise: the vampire lord has wandered endlessly the earth in torment over four centuries following his rise as one of the undead, a punishment for his irreligious grief over the death of his wife, Elisabeta (a movie debut role for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). Dracula has been searching, searching, searching for a female who could be the reincarnation of his departed beloved. By cruel fate, the chosen woman is revealed as Mina (also Bleu, of course), the reserved future wife of Dracula’s feeble property handler, Jonathan Harker (played by Ewens Abid), who lately visited to the vampire’s estate to discuss his real estate holdings and the tiny painting of the lovely Mina attracted Dracula’s gaze.

Besson’s Direction and Lighthearted Touch

Besson arranges Dracula’s flashback sequence of global roaming sporting extravagant attire confidently, and he doesn’t shy away from giving us humorous scenes in the style of Mel Brooks – such as the count’s repeated and futile attempts to kill himself following Elisabeta’s passing, in addition to absurd moments that occur when Dracula applies to himself with a specific fragrance in historic Florence, which causes him to be irresistible to women. Absurd yet engaging.

Dracula is available digitally starting December 1st and for physical purchase from 22 December. It screens in Australian cinemas from 5 February 2026.