Dracula Movie Critique – Luc Besson’s Love-Struck Reimagining of the Classic Horror Story is Absurd but Watchable

Perhaps interest is limited for an updated adaptation of Dracula from Luc Besson, the filmmaker known for stylish excess. Still, it’s worth noting: his opulently crafted romantic vampire tale boasts bold vision and flair – and in all its Hammer-y cheesiness, I’m not sure I wouldn’t prefer over Eggers’s dignified recent take of Nosferatu. A few strange elements appear, including one shot that seems to depict a territorial boundary between France and Romania.

Christoph Waltz as a Witty Yet Careworn Clergyman Hunting Vampires

Christoph Waltz plays a humorous yet burdened vampire-hunting priest – it’s surprising he never took on this character previously – who finds himself in Paris in 1889 during the centennial of the French Revolution. Likewise present is the evil Count Dracula, played by the seasoned horror actor Caleb Landry Jones with a mangled central European accent reminiscent of Carell’s Gru character from the Despicable Me comedies. This is a part he seemed destined to play.

The Plot: A Chronicle of Longing

Here’s the premise: the vampire lord has wandered endlessly the world in anguish for hundreds of years after his transformation into a vampire, a penalty due to his blasphemous mourning over the death of his spouse Elisabeta (a movie debut role for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). the vampire has been searching, searching, searching for some woman who would be the reincarnation of his lost love. By cruel fate, the chosen woman turns out to be Mina (portrayed once more by Bleu), the modest betrothed of Dracula’s wimpish land agent, Jonathan Harker (Ewens Abid), who has recently been to Dracula’s fortress to discuss his property portfolio and the tiny painting of the charming Mina attracted Dracula’s gaze.

Besson’s Handling and Humorous Style

Besson arranges Dracula’s second-act backstory of worldwide travels in various outrageous costumes with a sure hand, and he is not above giving us humorous scenes in the style of Mel Brooks – for example Dracula’s ongoing failed efforts to end his own life after Elisabeta’s death, in addition to absurd moments that occur when Dracula applies to himself using a particular scent in 18th-century Florence, that renders him unavoidably attractive to females. Absurd yet engaging.

Dracula is available digitally starting December 1st and on DVD and Blu-ray from 22 December. It screens in Australian cinemas starting February 5, 2026.