Dracula Film Analysis – Besson’s Love-Struck Revamp of the Gothic Classic is Absurd but Watchable

It’s possible there is no great enthusiasm for a new version of Dracula from Luc Besson, the French maestro for polished extravagance. Still, one must admit: his richly designed love story with vampires boasts bold vision and flair – and with its B-movie charm, it could be preferable over the recent, stately interpretation by Robert Eggers of Nosferatu. Odd details emerge, such as a scene that looks like it presents a land border between France and Romania.

The Veteran Actor as a Witty Yet Careworn 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 role before – who finds himself in Paris in 1889 for the French Revolution centenary celebrations. The same goes for the sinister Dracula, brought to life by the expert in grotesque roles Caleb Landry Jones speaking in a twisted regional dialect similar to Carell’s Gru character from the Despicable Me comedies. This is a part he seemed destined to play.

The Story: A Chronicle of Longing

Here’s the premise: Dracula has been restlessly roaming the globe in sorrow over four centuries since he became undead, a consequence for his faithless sorrow over the death of his wife, Elisabeta (a first film part for Zoë Bleu, daughter of Rosanna Arquette). The count has looked tirelessly for some woman who could be the return of his departed beloved. As ill fortune would have it, the fortunate female proves to be 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 real estate holdings and whose miniature portrait of the charming Mina caught the count’s hooded eye.

Besson’s Handling and Humorous Style

Besson arranges Dracula’s second-act backstory of global roaming in various outrageous costumes confidently, and he is not above providing funny bits with a distinctly Mel Brooks flavour – such as Dracula’s ongoing failed efforts to kill himself after Elisabeta’s death, along with comical sequences that occur when Dracula sprays himself with a specific fragrance during the 1700s in Florence, which makes him irresistible to women. Ridiculous and watchable.

Dracula can be streamed online starting December 1st and in disc format starting the twenty-second of December. It plays in Australian cinemas beginning on the fifth of February, 2026.