Dracula Film Analysis – Luc Besson’s Love-Struck Revamp of the Classic Horror Story is Outlandish but Entertaining

Perhaps there is no great enthusiasm for a new version of Dracula from Luc Besson, the French maestro for polished extravagance. However, it’s worth noting: his lavishly upholstered love story with vampires has ambition and panache – and with its B-movie charm, I might just favor to it to Robert Eggers’s recent, solemnly classy version of Nosferatu. A few strange elements appear, including one shot that seems to depict a territorial boundary between France and Romania.

Waltz as a Clever but Weary Clergyman Hunting Vampires

Christoph Waltz portrays a witty yet careworn man of the church pursuing the undead – it feels natural for him to tackle this character previously – who arrives in Paris in 1889 to mark the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. So does the sinister Dracula, played by the body-horror veteran Caleb Landry Jones using a distorted Eastern European tone reminiscent of 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: Dracula has been restlessly roaming the earth in torment over four centuries since he became undead, a punishment for his irreligious grief following the loss of his beloved Elisabeta (a movie debut role for Zoë Bleu, the offspring of Rosanna Arquette). The count has looked tirelessly for a lady who could be the rebirth of his departed beloved. By cruel fate, the lucky lady turns out to be Mina (also Bleu, of course), the modest betrothed of the count’s timid estate manager, Jonathan Harker (enacted by Ewens Abid), who has recently been to the count’s castle to discuss his property portfolio and the small picture of the charming Mina caught the count’s hooded eye.

The Filmmaker’s Approach and Humorous Style

Besson organizes Dracula’s flashback sequence of global roaming sporting extravagant attire confidently, and he willingly includes giving us humorous scenes reminiscent of Mel Brooks – for example the count’s repeated and futile attempts to commit suicide post-Elisabeta’s demise, along with farcical scenes that result after Dracula douses himself with a specific fragrance in historic Florence, which causes him to be unavoidably attractive to females. Ridiculous and watchable.

Dracula is on digital platforms from 1 December and on DVD and Blu-ray from December 22nd. It will be shown in Australian cinemas from 5 February 2026.