Maybe audiences aren’t clamoring for an updated adaptation of Dracula from Luc Besson, the celebrated French director for stylish excess. And yet, it has to be said: his opulently crafted romantic vampire tale displays creativity and style – and with its B-movie charm, I’m not sure I wouldn’t prefer compared with the recent, stately interpretation by Robert Eggers of Nosferatu. Odd details emerge, such as a scene that seems to depict a land border between France and Romania.
Christoph Waltz plays a witty yet careworn man of the church pursuing the undead – it feels natural for him to tackle such a part earlier – who arrives in Paris in 1889 for the French Revolution centenary celebrations. So does the sinister Dracula, enacted by the body-horror veteran Caleb Landry Jones with a mangled central European accent similar to the voice of Gru by Steve Carell from the Despicable Me comedies. This is a part suits him perfectly.
The story is this: Dracula has wandered endlessly the globe in torment over four centuries since he became undead, a penalty 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 sought relentlessly for a lady who might be the rebirth of his departed beloved. As ill fortune would have it, the fortunate female turns out to be Mina (portrayed once more by Bleu), the reserved future wife of the count’s timid estate manager, Jonathan Harker (enacted by Ewens Abid), who has recently been to the vampire’s estate to review his land assets and the small picture of the winsome Mina drew the vampire’s attention.
Besson structures Dracula’s second-act backstory of global roaming wearing flamboyant outfits confidently, and he is not above offering funny bits with a distinctly Mel Brooks flavour – for example the vampire’s constant unsuccessful tries to end his own life following Elisabeta’s passing, along with farcical scenes that occur when Dracula douses himself using a particular scent in 18th-century Florence, which causes him to be irresistible to women. Absurd yet engaging.
Dracula is on digital platforms starting December 1st and in disc format from 22 December. It plays in Australian cinemas from 5 February 2026.
Elara Vance is a dedicated MapleStory enthusiast and gaming writer, known for creating in-depth guides and staying updated on game mechanics.
