Dracula Movie Critique – Luc Besson’s Passionate Reimagining of the Classic Horror Story is Ridiculous but Watchable

Perhaps there is no great enthusiasm for a new version of Dracula from Luc Besson, the celebrated French director for stylish excess. Still, one must admit: his richly designed love story with vampires has ambition and panache – and in all its Hammer-y cheesiness, I might just favor over Eggers’s dignified recent take of Nosferatu. Odd details emerge, like a particular moment that looks like it presents a territorial boundary between France and Romania.

Waltz as a Clever but Weary Priest Tracking the Undead

Christoph Waltz plays a clever but beleaguered 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 during the centennial of the French Revolution. Likewise present is the sinister Dracula, brought to life by the body-horror veteran Caleb Landry Jones speaking in a twisted regional dialect reminiscent of the voice of Gru by Steve Carell from the Despicable Me comedies. It’s a role suits him perfectly.

The Plot: A Tale of Love and Loss

The story is this: Dracula has been restlessly roaming the earth in sorrow for 400 years after his transformation into a vampire, a punishment for his irreligious grief over the death of his beloved Elisabeta (an inaugural screen appearance for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). Dracula has been searching, searching, searching for a lady who could be the reincarnation of his deceased partner. Unfortunately, the fortunate female turns out to be Mina (again played by Bleu), the demure fiancee of Dracula’s wimpish land agent, Jonathan Harker (enacted by Ewens Abid), who just traveled to the count’s castle to negotiate his property portfolio and whose miniature portrait of the lovely Mina caught the count’s hooded eye.

Besson’s Handling and Humorous Style

Besson organizes Dracula’s flashback sequence of international journeys sporting extravagant attire confidently, and he is not above giving us some comedy moments with a distinctly Mel Brooks flavour – such as the vampire’s constant unsuccessful tries to kill himself post-Elisabeta’s demise, as well as comical sequences that result after Dracula applies to himself with a specific fragrance during the 1700s in Florence, which makes him irresistible to women. Outlandish but entertaining.

Dracula is on digital platforms starting December 1st and in disc format from 22 December. It plays in Australian cinemas from 5 February 2026.