Dracula Review – Luc Besson’s Love-Struck Reimagining of the Timeless Gothic Tale is Absurd but Entertaining

It’s possible there is no great enthusiasm for a new version of Dracula from Luc Besson, the French maestro for glossiness and bloat. Still, one must admit: his lavishly upholstered romantic vampire tale displays creativity and style – and with its B-movie charm, I might just favor to it to Robert Eggers’s recent, solemnly classy version of Nosferatu. There are some very bizarre touches, like a particular moment that appears to show a territorial boundary between France and Romania.

Waltz as a Humorously Exhausted Clergyman Hunting Vampires

Christoph Waltz embodies a clever but beleaguered cleric fighting vampires – it’s surprising he never took on this character previously – who ends up in Paris in 1889 during the centennial of the French Revolution. Likewise present is the malevolent vampire count, brought to life by the body-horror veteran Caleb Landry Jones using a distorted Eastern European tone similar to Carell’s Gru character of the Despicable Me series. This is a part that he too was born to take on.

The Story: A Tale of Love and Loss

The plot unfolds as follows: the count has traveled ceaselessly the world in torment for 400 years since he became undead, a punishment for his faithless sorrow over the death of his beloved Elisabeta (an inaugural screen appearance for Zoë Bleu, the offspring of Rosanna Arquette). Dracula has looked tirelessly for a female who might be the reincarnation of his lost love. By cruel fate, the lucky lady is revealed as Mina (again played by Bleu), the reserved future wife of Dracula’s wimpish land agent, Jonathan Harker (played by Ewens Abid), who has recently been to the vampire’s estate to negotiate his land assets and the small picture of the charming Mina attracted Dracula’s gaze.

Besson’s Direction and Comic Flair

Besson organizes Dracula’s middle-section history of worldwide travels wearing flamboyant outfits confidently, and he willingly includes providing some comedy moments reminiscent of Mel Brooks – for example the count’s repeated and futile attempts to kill himself following Elisabeta’s passing, as well as absurd moments that result after Dracula douses himself in a certain perfume in 18th-century Florence, that renders him irresistible to women. Absurd yet engaging.

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