Dracula Movie Critique – Besson’s Love-Struck Reinterpretation of the Timeless Gothic Tale is Absurd but Watchable

Perhaps there is no great enthusiasm for a new version of Dracula from Luc Besson, the French maestro for stylish excess. And yet, one must admit: his opulently crafted romantic vampire tale has ambition and panache – and with its B-movie charm, I might just favor over Eggers’s dignified recent take of Nosferatu. There are some very bizarre touches, like a particular moment that seems to depict a land border between France and Romania.

Christoph Waltz as a Clever but Weary Clergyman Hunting Vampires

Christoph Waltz portrays a witty yet careworn vampire-hunting priest – it feels natural for him to tackle such a part earlier – who arrives in Paris in 1889 for the French Revolution centenary celebrations. Likewise present is the evil Count Dracula, brought to life by the body-horror veteran Caleb Landry Jones using a distorted Eastern European tone similar to Steve Carell’s Gru in the Despicable Me films. It’s a role suits him perfectly.

The Narrative: A Saga of Heartbreak

The story is this: the count has been restlessly roaming the earth in torment for hundreds of years since he became undead, a punishment for his irreligious grief following the loss of his beloved Elisabeta (an inaugural screen appearance for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). The count has sought relentlessly for a lady who would be the rebirth of his lost love. Unfortunately, the fortunate female proves to be Mina (also Bleu, of course), the reserved future wife of Dracula’s wimpish land agent, Jonathan Harker (enacted by Ewens Abid), who has recently been to Dracula’s fortress to negotiate his property portfolio and the small picture of the charming Mina caught the count’s hooded eye.

Besson’s Direction and Lighthearted Touch

Besson arranges Dracula’s middle-section history of global roaming in various outrageous costumes with a sure hand, and he doesn’t shy away from giving us humorous scenes in the style of Mel Brooks – for example the vampire’s constant unsuccessful tries 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, that renders him irresistible to women. Ridiculous and watchable.

Dracula is available digitally beginning on the first of December and for physical purchase from 22 December. It screens in Australian cinemas starting February 5, 2026.