Dracula Review – Besson’s Love-Struck Reimagining of the Classic Horror Story is Absurd but Engaging

Maybe interest is limited for a new version of Dracula from Luc Besson, the filmmaker known for polished extravagance. Still, it has to be said: his richly designed love story with vampires displays creativity and style – and amid its theatrical camp, 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 geographic divide between France and Romania.

The Veteran Actor as a Humorously Exhausted Priest Tracking the Undead

Christoph Waltz portrays a clever but beleaguered vampire-hunting priest – it’s surprising he never took on such a part earlier – who arrives in Paris in 1889 to mark the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. The same goes for the evil Count Dracula, enacted by the seasoned horror actor Caleb Landry Jones with a mangled central European accent reminiscent of Carell’s Gru character from the Despicable Me comedies. This character suits him perfectly.

The Plot: A Saga of Heartbreak

The story is this: the count has wandered endlessly the earth in anguish over four centuries since he became undead, a punishment due to his blasphemous mourning over the death of his beloved Elisabeta (an inaugural screen appearance for Zoë Bleu, the offspring of Rosanna Arquette). the vampire has been searching, searching, searching for a female who would be the rebirth of his deceased partner. Unfortunately, the fortunate female proves to be Mina (also Bleu, of course), the demure fiancee of the count’s timid estate manager, Jonathan Harker (enacted by Ewens Abid), who has recently been to Dracula’s fortress to negotiate his land assets and the tiny painting of the charming Mina drew the vampire’s attention.

The Filmmaker’s Approach and Comic Flair

Besson structures Dracula’s middle-section history of international journeys in various outrageous costumes skillfully, and he doesn’t shy away from providing humorous scenes in the style of Mel Brooks – like the vampire’s constant unsuccessful tries to end his own life post-Elisabeta’s demise, in addition to absurd moments that result after Dracula applies to himself in a certain perfume in 18th-century Florence, that renders him irresistible to women. Outlandish but entertaining.

Dracula can be streamed online from 1 December and in disc format from December 22nd. It screens in Australian cinemas from 5 February 2026.