Dracula Movie Critique – Besson’s Romantic Reimagining of the Timeless Gothic Tale is Absurd but Watchable

It’s possible audiences aren’t clamoring for a new version of Dracula from Luc Besson, the filmmaker known for stylish excess. However, it’s worth noting: his richly designed vampire romance boasts bold vision and flair – and with its B-movie charm, I’m not sure I wouldn’t prefer compared with Robert Eggers’s recent, solemnly classy version of Nosferatu. A few strange elements appear, like a particular moment that appears to show a geographic divide between France and Romania.

Christoph Waltz as a Clever but Weary Priest Tracking the Undead

Christoph Waltz portrays a witty yet careworn man of the church pursuing the undead – it feels natural for him to tackle such a part earlier – who ends up in Paris in 1889 to mark the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. Likewise present is the sinister Dracula, brought to life by the body-horror veteran Caleb Landry Jones using a distorted Eastern European tone evoking Carell’s Gru character from the Despicable Me comedies. This character he seemed destined to play.

The Story: A Tale of Love and Loss

Here’s the premise: the count has been restlessly roaming the world in torment for 400 years after his transformation into a vampire, a consequence for his irreligious grief after the passing of his beloved Elisabeta (a movie debut role for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). The count has sought relentlessly for a lady who might be the return of his lost love. As ill fortune would have it, the chosen woman turns out to be Mina (portrayed once more by Bleu), the modest betrothed of Dracula’s feeble property handler, Jonathan Harker (played by Ewens Abid), who lately visited to the count’s castle to negotiate his land assets and the small picture of the charming Mina attracted Dracula’s gaze.

Besson’s Direction and Humorous Style

Besson organizes Dracula’s middle-section history of global roaming sporting extravagant attire confidently, and he doesn’t shy away from offering some comedy moments reminiscent of Mel Brooks – like the count’s repeated and futile attempts to commit suicide post-Elisabeta’s demise, along with farcical scenes that occur when Dracula applies to himself with a specific fragrance in 18th-century Florence, which makes him irresistible to women. Absurd yet engaging.

Dracula is on digital platforms beginning on the first of December and for physical purchase from 22 December. It screens in Australian cinemas from 5 February 2026.