Dracula Movie Critique – Luc Besson’s Passionate Revamp of the Classic Horror Story is Outlandish but Engaging

It’s possible there is no great enthusiasm for a new version of Dracula from Luc Besson, the celebrated French director for stylish excess. However, it has to be said: his richly designed love story with vampires displays creativity and style – and with its B-movie charm, I’m not sure I wouldn’t prefer over Robert Eggers’s recent, solemnly classy version of Nosferatu. A few strange elements appear, including one shot that looks like it presents a geographic divide between France and Romania.

Christoph Waltz as a Clever but Weary Vampire-Hunting Priest

Christoph Waltz plays a clever but beleaguered vampire-hunting priest – it’s surprising he never took on such a part earlier – who ends up in Paris in 1889 to mark the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. So does the evil Count Dracula, brought to life by the seasoned horror actor Caleb Landry Jones using a distorted Eastern European tone similar to the voice of Gru by Steve Carell of the Despicable Me series. This character suits him perfectly.

The Story: A Tale of Love and Loss

Here’s the premise: the vampire lord has traveled ceaselessly the earth in sorrow for 400 years since he became undead, a punishment due to his blasphemous mourning following the loss of his beloved Elisabeta (a movie debut role for Zoë Bleu, Rosanna Arquette’s child). the vampire has sought relentlessly for some woman who could be the reincarnation of his lost love. As ill fortune would have it, the chosen woman is revealed as Mina (also Bleu, of course), the demure fiancee of the count’s timid estate manager, Jonathan Harker (Ewens Abid), who lately visited to the count’s castle to negotiate his property portfolio and the tiny painting of the winsome Mina caught the count’s hooded eye.

Besson’s Direction and Humorous Style

Besson arranges Dracula’s flashback sequence of worldwide travels wearing flamboyant outfits with a sure hand, and he doesn’t shy away from giving us funny bits with a distinctly Mel Brooks flavour – such as the count’s repeated and futile attempts to end his own life after Elisabeta’s death, in addition to absurd moments that result after Dracula applies to himself using a particular scent in 18th-century Florence, which causes him to be irresistible to women. Ridiculous and watchable.

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