Dracula Review – Luc Besson’s Love-Struck Reinterpretation of the Timeless Gothic Tale is Absurd but Entertaining

Perhaps there is no great enthusiasm for a new version of Dracula from Luc Besson, the celebrated French director for stylish excess. Still, one must admit: his richly designed love story with vampires boasts bold vision and flair – and with its B-movie charm, it could be preferable compared with Robert Eggers’s recent, solemnly classy version of Nosferatu. Odd details emerge, including one shot that looks like it presents a territorial boundary between France and Romania.

Waltz as a Clever but Weary Priest Tracking the Undead

Christoph Waltz portrays a clever but beleaguered cleric fighting vampires – it’s surprising he never took on this role before – who ends up in Paris in 1889 during the centennial of the French Revolution. The same goes for the malevolent vampire count, played by the body-horror veteran Caleb Landry Jones using a distorted Eastern European tone similar to Carell’s Gru character from the Despicable Me comedies. It’s a role suits him perfectly.

The Story: A Chronicle of Longing

Here’s the premise: Dracula has wandered endlessly the earth in anguish for hundreds of years since he became undead, a consequence due to his blasphemous mourning following the loss of his beloved Elisabeta (an inaugural screen appearance for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). Dracula has sought relentlessly for some woman who could be the reincarnation of his lost love. By cruel fate, the lucky lady turns out to be Mina (again played by Bleu), the demure fiancee of Dracula’s wimpish land agent, Jonathan Harker (Ewens Abid), who just traveled to Dracula’s fortress to discuss his real estate holdings and whose miniature portrait of the charming Mina caught the count’s hooded eye.

Besson’s Handling and Lighthearted Touch

Besson structures Dracula’s flashback sequence of worldwide travels sporting extravagant attire skillfully, and he doesn’t shy away from offering funny bits reminiscent of Mel Brooks – such as Dracula’s ongoing failed efforts to kill himself following Elisabeta’s passing, in addition to farcical scenes that result after Dracula douses himself with a specific fragrance in 18th-century Florence, that renders him compelling to the opposite sex. Outlandish but entertaining.

Dracula can be streamed online starting December 1st and on DVD and Blu-ray starting the twenty-second of December. It plays in Australian cinemas from 5 February 2026.