Dracula Movie Critique – Besson’s Romantic Reinterpretation of the Classic Horror Story is Absurd but Watchable

It’s possible there is no great enthusiasm for a new version of Dracula from Luc Besson, the celebrated French director for stylish excess. And yet, it’s worth noting: his opulently crafted vampire romance boasts bold vision and flair – and with its B-movie charm, I might just favor compared with Eggers’s dignified recent take of Nosferatu. There are some very bizarre touches, including one shot that appears to show a geographic divide between France and Romania.

Christoph Waltz as a Witty Yet Careworn Vampire-Hunting Priest

Christoph Waltz portrays a humorous yet burdened man of the church pursuing the undead – it’s surprising he never took on this character previously – who ends up in Paris in 1889 for the French Revolution centenary celebrations. Likewise present is the evil Count Dracula, played by the body-horror veteran Caleb Landry Jones using a distorted Eastern European tone similar to the voice of Gru by Steve Carell of the Despicable Me series. This is a part he seemed destined to play.

The Plot: A Tale of Love and Loss

The story is this: the count has wandered endlessly the world in sorrow over four centuries after his transformation into a vampire, a consequence for his irreligious grief over the death of his spouse Elisabeta (a movie debut role for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). The count has been searching, searching, searching for some woman who could be the rebirth of his lost love. As ill fortune would have it, the lucky lady turns out to be Mina (again played by Bleu), the demure fiancee of the count’s timid estate manager, Jonathan Harker (enacted by Ewens Abid), who lately visited to Dracula’s fortress to review his property portfolio and whose miniature portrait of the charming Mina drew the vampire’s attention.

Besson’s Handling and Comic Flair

Besson organizes Dracula’s flashback sequence of global roaming in various outrageous costumes skillfully, and he doesn’t shy away from offering some comedy moments reminiscent of Mel Brooks – such as the vampire’s constant unsuccessful tries to kill himself following Elisabeta’s passing, as well as absurd moments that result after Dracula sprays himself in a certain perfume during the 1700s in Florence, which makes him compelling to the opposite sex. Ridiculous and watchable.

Dracula is available digitally from 1 December and in disc format from 22 December. It will be shown in Australian cinemas beginning on the fifth of February, 2026.