Dracula Film Analysis – The French Director’s Romantic Revamp of the Timeless Gothic Tale is Outlandish but Entertaining

Maybe audiences aren’t clamoring for an updated adaptation of Dracula from Luc Besson, the French maestro for stylish excess. And yet, it has to be said: his richly designed love story with vampires has ambition and panache – and with its B-movie charm, it could be preferable compared with Robert Eggers’s recent, solemnly classy version of Nosferatu. There are some very bizarre touches, including one shot that seems to depict a geographic divide between France and Romania.

The Veteran Actor as a Witty Yet Careworn Priest Tracking the Undead

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 finds himself in Paris in 1889 for the French Revolution centenary celebrations. Likewise present is the sinister Dracula, 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. It’s a role that he too was born to take on.

The Story: A Chronicle of Longing

The plot unfolds as follows: the count has been restlessly roaming the world in torment over four centuries following his rise as one of the undead, a consequence due to his blasphemous mourning after the passing of his spouse Elisabeta (a first film part for Zoë Bleu, Rosanna Arquette’s child). The count has sought relentlessly for some woman who could be the reincarnation of his deceased partner. As ill fortune would have it, the lucky lady proves to be Mina (portrayed once more by Bleu), the reserved future wife of the count’s timid estate manager, Jonathan Harker (played by Ewens Abid), who has recently been to Dracula’s fortress to review his property portfolio and the small picture of the lovely Mina caught the count’s hooded eye.

Besson’s Handling and Humorous Style

Besson structures Dracula’s flashback sequence of worldwide travels in various outrageous costumes with a sure hand, and he doesn’t shy away from giving us funny bits in the style of Mel Brooks – for example the vampire’s constant unsuccessful tries to kill himself post-Elisabeta’s demise, along with absurd moments that result after Dracula sprays himself using a particular scent during the 1700s in Florence, which causes him to be unavoidably attractive to females. Ridiculous and watchable.

Dracula can be streamed online starting December 1st and on DVD and Blu-ray starting the twenty-second of December. It plays in Australian cinemas from 5 February 2026.