Dracula Movie Critique – Luc Besson’s Passionate Reinterpretation of the Gothic Classic is Absurd but Entertaining

Perhaps there is no great enthusiasm for a new version of Dracula from Luc Besson, the filmmaker known for polished extravagance. And yet, it’s worth noting: his lavishly upholstered vampire romance has ambition and panache – and amid its theatrical camp, I might just favor over Eggers’s dignified recent take of Nosferatu. A few strange elements appear, such as a scene that seems to depict a territorial boundary between France and Romania.

The Veteran Actor as a Humorously Exhausted Priest Tracking the Undead

Christoph Waltz embodies a witty yet careworn man of the church pursuing the undead – it feels natural for him to tackle this character previously – who finds himself in Paris in 1889 for the French Revolution centenary celebrations. Likewise present is the sinister Dracula, played by the expert in grotesque roles Caleb Landry Jones with a mangled central European accent evoking the voice of Gru by Steve Carell in the Despicable Me films. This character that he too was born to take on.

The Story: A Tale of Love and Loss

Here’s the premise: the count has traveled ceaselessly the world in sorrow for 400 years since he became undead, a punishment for his faithless sorrow following the loss of his wife, Elisabeta (a first film part for Zoë Bleu, Rosanna Arquette’s child). The count has looked tirelessly for a lady who could be the return of his departed beloved. As ill fortune would have it, the chosen woman turns out to be Mina (also Bleu, of course), the reserved future wife of the count’s timid estate manager, Jonathan Harker (enacted by Ewens Abid), who just traveled to the vampire’s estate to negotiate his land assets and whose miniature portrait of the charming Mina attracted Dracula’s gaze.

The Filmmaker’s Approach and Lighthearted Touch

Besson structures Dracula’s flashback sequence of global roaming wearing flamboyant outfits skillfully, and he doesn’t shy away from providing funny bits in the style of Mel Brooks – such as the vampire’s constant unsuccessful tries to end his own life following Elisabeta’s passing, along with farcical scenes that follow Dracula sprays himself with a specific fragrance in historic Florence, which makes him irresistible to women. Absurd yet engaging.

Dracula is on digital platforms from 1 December and for physical purchase from December 22nd. It plays in Australian cinemas from 5 February 2026.