Rent Dracula (2025)

Better Than I Was Expecting - Dracula review by KB

Luc Besson does a very good job here overall as well as being visually good . I wasn't sure what to expect beforehand but thought it was a good watch & can't really think of anything to fault.

Love Lasts Forever (mild spoilers) - Dracula review by NP

Some complain about there being too many Dracula films released recently. Some complain about anything. If you happen to like horror, this is a golden time for the old Count.

Hot on the heels of 2024’s mighty Nosferatu, a superb production in which the only weak link was the depiction of the titular character, there’s this French-produced epic. As the title suggests, Dracula: A Love Tale concentrates on the more romantic nature of draining young people of their lifeblood, much as Francis Ford Coppola’s overblown Dracula 1992 film did; and that’s not the only similarity between the productions. The look of Caleb Landry Jones’ main character, both young and ancient, is similar too Gary Oldman’s version, as is his brooding ancestral castle. However, whereas Coppola’s film was unnecessarily overblown and – strangely, considering the star-studded cast – very poorly acted in places, A Love Tale features exemplary performances and just the right mix of spectacle and effects. A wronged monster in search of a reincarnated long-lost love was never exclusive to Coppola anyway – the Mummy films have been doing it since the 1940s.

There are no bloodsucking bats here. Instead, we have living CGI gargoyles. They’re impressive mostly, but as a new addition to vampire lore, they’re bizarre. Only in the finale do they assume an air of reality and even poignancy. Humour – not a comforting bedfellow of bloodsuckers – runs a vein through proceedings, and not unsuccessfully. More subjective even than horror, comedy is a risky thing to include, but it is morbid and dry enough to impress me, and I’m extremely hard to please. Jonathan Harker, here, comes across as rather clumsy and oafish – he then becomes a thorn in Dracula’s side at a time when the story invites us to empathise with the vampire. It all works surprisingly well.

I thoroughly enjoyed this and recommend it as a welcome addition to the huge amount of Dracula variations already available to feast upon. Of the impressive actors, Landry Jones is consistent and compelling: not a typical Drac figure, but unusual and very watchable. Zoë Bleu is idiosyncratic and wonderful as Mina, a character who never catches a break. My favourite performer might well be Matilda De Angelis as the flamboyant Maria; her first scene as the captured vampire is exquisitely played in particular – a mix of feral defiance, seduction, playfulness and angst as she is reminded that at this stage of the tale, she is entirely at the mercy of the ‘good guys’. As is sometimes the case, the antagonists are so fascinating and extravagant that those on the side of good are comparatively bland.

A terrific take on the Bram Stoker favourite.

My score is 9 out of 10.