French writer-director Luc Besson (La Femme Nikita, The Professional, The Fifth Element, Lucy) reimagines Bram Stoker’s classic vampire story about 15th century prince Vladimir of Wallachia (Caleb Landry Jones) who after the death of his wife, Elisabeta (Zoë Bleu), renounces God and is cursed with vampirism. Determined to find the reincarnation of Elisabeta, he searches through the ages, eventually discovering her in Mina Murray (also Bleu). Meanwhile, a priest (Christoph Waltz) works to undo Dracula’s damage and free those he’s turned into vampires. (129 min.)
DRACULA
What’s it rated? R
What’s it worth, Anna? Stream it
What’s it worth, Glen? Matinee
Where’s it showing? Colony, Downtown Centre, Stadium 10
Glen I’ve always loved vampire films. In my early teens, I was always down for a Hammer (1958 to 1974) double feature at the mall. Nosferatu the Vampire (1979), The Hunger (1983), Fright Night (1985), The Lost Boys (1987), Near Dark (1987), Cronos (1993), From Dusk to Dawn (1996), Blade (1998), 30 Days of Night (2007), Let the Right One In (2008), Daybreakers (2009), Only Lovers Left Alive (2013), Nosferatu (2024), right up to Sinners (2025)—I’ll watch them all, and I love the really inventive ones. Besson’s take is akin to Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 Dracula in that it wants to stay true to Bram Stoker’s 1987 gothic novel, but by adhering so closely to the original tale, it borders on the cliché and comical. Besson adds a few deviations from Stoker’s story. For instance, his Dracula’s lure is a perfume. We also get some impaled heads, which don’t appear in Stoker’s story but are connected to the historical figure that inspired Stoker, Vlad the Impaler. As vampire movies go, this one has atmosphere and style, but in the pantheon of vampire flicks, it’s forgettable.
Anna It certainly focuses on the romance part of the story. The film opens with a frenzied montage of Vlad and Elizabeta in the throes of sex, of dancing, of shooting a gun through a pillow, of pillow fights, of what feels like an acid trip that has gone on far too long. When sent to war, he sends his bride away, and that’s where she meets her terrible fate. The film is raw in many ways and over the top in many others. I think the acting was good here, and maybe I’m suffering from a bit of Dracula overload between this film and Nosferatu coming out not long ago, but it didn’t have a particularly big wow factor for me. Cinematically it was effective, and if you don’t mind the familiar story, it may be worth catching a matinee if you’re in the mood.
Glen Landry Jones is suitably odd looking as Dracula. I think he may have been cast because he shares similar uniquely distinctive features to Klaus Kinski, star of Werner Herzog’s Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979). He’s sweaty and feral and intense. Bleu, who’s the daughter of Rosanna Arquette, matches Jones’ intensity. Christoph Waltz as the priest is good as usual, but there’s not that much for him to do, and he seems to understand he’s in a mostly rote retelling of this classic story. There are a lot of vampire movies I’m always up for watching again, like 30 Days of Night and Near Dark, and while I’m glad to have seen it and think it’s worth a matinee for vampire fans, I probably won’t be revisiting Besson’s Dracula.
Anna There’s plenty of vampire content out there, much of it more memorable than this. It doesn’t get it all wrong though. I’ll give it up to the costuming department that managed to make a meal of every outfit, especially as Vlad traveled through the eras and visited worldwide destinations as he hunted for the ingredients to his perfume. The French perruques and painted faces, group dances, fawning women—the scenes are rich. Casting-wise, the film is spot-on. It just didn’t feel like a novel approach to the tale. Maybe keep this one in mind when it comes onto streaming platforms. Until then, revisit some of the vampire flicks already flooding the market. ∆
Arts Editor Glen Starkey and freelancer Anna Starkey write Split Screen. Comment at gstarkey@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Health & Wellness 2026.