Dracula Review – Luc Besson’s Passionate Reimagining of the Gothic Classic is Absurd but Watchable

Maybe there is no great enthusiasm for an updated adaptation of Dracula from Luc Besson, the filmmaker known for stylish excess. However, one must admit: his richly designed love story with vampires boasts bold vision and flair – and amid its theatrical camp, it could be preferable compared with Eggers’s dignified recent take of Nosferatu. There are some very bizarre touches, like a particular moment that looks like it presents a territorial boundary between France and Romania.

Waltz as a Witty Yet Careworn Clergyman Hunting Vampires

Christoph Waltz embodies a witty yet careworn cleric fighting vampires – it feels natural for him to tackle such a part earlier – who finds himself in Paris in 1889 during the centennial of the French Revolution. So does the sinister Dracula, played by the body-horror veteran Caleb Landry Jones with a mangled central European accent reminiscent of Carell’s Gru character of the Despicable Me series. It’s a role that he too was born to take on.

The Story: A Chronicle of Longing

The plot unfolds as follows: the vampire lord has wandered endlessly the world in sorrow for 400 years since he became undead, a penalty for his irreligious grief over the death of his beloved Elisabeta (a first film part for Zoë Bleu, Rosanna Arquette’s child). Dracula has sought relentlessly for a female who could be the return of his lost love. By cruel fate, the lucky lady proves to be Mina (also Bleu, of course), the demure fiancee of Dracula’s wimpish land agent, Jonathan Harker (enacted by Ewens Abid), who has recently been to Dracula’s fortress to discuss his land assets and the small picture of the lovely Mina caught the count’s hooded eye.

Besson’s Direction and Comic Flair

Besson structures Dracula’s middle-section history of worldwide travels in various outrageous costumes confidently, and he willingly includes offering funny bits reminiscent of Mel Brooks – like Dracula’s ongoing failed efforts to end his own life after Elisabeta’s death, as well as absurd moments that follow Dracula douses himself using a particular scent during the 1700s in Florence, which makes him unavoidably attractive to females. Absurd yet engaging.

Dracula can be streamed online starting December 1st and for physical purchase from December 22nd. It screens in Australian cinemas starting February 5, 2026.