Dracula Review – The French Director’s Love-Struck Reinterpretation of the Classic Horror Story is Ridiculous but Entertaining

It’s possible interest is limited for a new version of Dracula from Luc Besson, the celebrated French director for stylish excess. Still, one must admit: his richly designed vampire romance boasts bold vision and flair – and with its B-movie charm, I’m not sure I wouldn’t prefer over Robert Eggers’s recent, solemnly classy version of Nosferatu. Odd details emerge, such as a scene that appears to show a territorial boundary between France and Romania.

The Veteran Actor as a Humorously Exhausted Priest Tracking the Undead

Christoph Waltz portrays a clever but beleaguered cleric fighting vampires – it’s surprising he never took on this role before – who ends up in Paris in 1889 during the centennial of the French Revolution. Likewise present is the sinister Dracula, enacted by the seasoned horror actor Caleb Landry Jones speaking in a twisted regional dialect evoking Steve Carell’s Gru from the Despicable Me comedies. This character he seemed destined to play.

The Story: A Chronicle of Longing

The plot unfolds as follows: the vampire lord has traveled ceaselessly the world in torment for 400 years following his rise as one of the undead, a punishment due to his blasphemous mourning following the loss of his wife, Elisabeta (an inaugural screen appearance for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). The count has sought relentlessly for a lady who could be the reincarnation of his departed beloved. By cruel fate, the lucky lady proves to be Mina (portrayed once more by Bleu), the demure fiancee of Dracula’s wimpish land agent, Jonathan Harker (enacted by Ewens Abid), who has recently been to Dracula’s fortress to negotiate his real estate holdings and whose miniature portrait of the winsome Mina caught the count’s hooded eye.

Besson’s Direction and Comic Flair

Besson arranges Dracula’s middle-section history of international journeys wearing flamboyant outfits with a sure hand, and he willingly includes giving us some comedy moments reminiscent of Mel Brooks – such as Dracula’s ongoing failed efforts to end his own life after Elisabeta’s death, in addition to absurd moments that result after Dracula sprays himself in a certain perfume in historic Florence, that renders him irresistible to women. Absurd yet engaging.

Dracula is available digitally beginning on the first of December and in disc format from December 22nd. It screens in Australian cinemas from 5 February 2026.