Luc Besson’s Dracula

Traditionally, Dracula’s familiars have been bats or wolves, but since gargoyles look like giant bats, or small vampires, it sort of makes sense that he could command them. They can also be found in some examples of Medieval Romanian architecture, so again, it is maybe horror movie-plausible. Regardless, they are the sort of eccentric wrinkle that makes director-writer Luc Besson’s new take on Bram Stoker’s classic vampire amusing. Maybe that wasn’t exactly what he was going for, but its what viewers get when Besson’s Dracula (a.k.a. Dracula: A Love Tale) opens this Friday in New York.

This time around, he is Vlad II, Dracul, who was historically Vlad the Impaler’s dad. This Vlad would rather make love than war, but his generals literally pull him off his wife Elisabeta to defend Christendom from the invading Muslim Ottoman hordes. He tries to make a deal with the Almighty, to protect the faith, in exchange for Elisabeta’s safety. The soon to be late Cardinal tried to caution Dracul, it doesn’t really work that way—and indeed it didn't. However, when Vlad II responded with a bloody sacrilegious bender, he was cursed from above to become an undead monstrosity.

Dracula (as he now calls himself) has only one abiding interest: to find his reborn Elisabeta, who was so virtuous, he knows she will be reincarnated someday. That notion somewhat conflicts with Besson’s hodge-podge Christian elements, but who wants to be pedantic, anyway? It turns out she is now Mina Murray, who had the misfortune of befriending one of Dracula’s vampire slaves, Maria de Montebelo, a Belle Epoque party girl, who was betrothed to the Queen’s nephew by marriage. However, she reacted violently when a priest showed up at the ceremony.

Of course, the “Priest” immediately understands her deal, because he is Besson’s Van Helsing analog. He is also a sardonic boozer, but thanks to his Vatican training, he knows his lore and his theology. In fact, the Priest would prefer to convince Dracula to repent and thereby lift the curse rather than go through all the messy business with the stake through his heart, followed by decapitation. However, his first priority is finding and protecting the reborn Elisabeta, but conveniently Murray happens to be sitting patiently in the waiting room of Dr. Dumont (the Dr. Seward analog).

Reportedly, Besson has tried to position this Dracula as a faithful adaptation, but frankly it takes more than the average liberties with Stoker’s novel. In truth, almost no film or series has really captured the book’s second act, in which Lucy Westenra’s trio of suitors (including Seward) sit for round-the-clock transfusions in a desperate attempt to keep her alive, only to fail and swear vengeance against Dracula.

However, Besson has Christoph Waltz and Matilda de Angelis, as the Priest and de Montebelo. Both bring a lot of attitude and energy, which is especially impressive for de Angelis, since her character is undead. Indeed, she puts the vampiness in the vampire. Similarly, Waltz chews the cinema with infectious delight. While Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu is a superior film in many ways, it probably would have been just as entertaining had Waltz replaced Dafoe as Van Helsing (and Dafoe was terrific in the part).

Other casting choices are somewhat questionable. Caleb Landry Jones seems miscast as the reckless Gothic playboy-crusader Dracul, but he grows stronger in the role as the increasingly world-weary Dracula starts stalking the screen. Yet, the look as the emaciated Dracula who welcomes clueless Jonatha Harker to his family castle bears a suspicious resemblance to Gary Oldman’s pre-London Count in Coppola’s Dracula and his chemistry with Zoe Bleu’s Murray/Elisabeta is rather iffy. Regardless, Guillaume de Tonquedec appears conspicuously out of place as Dumont/Seward.

Still, Besson has wild and crazy gargoyles, who have a bizarre charm. Unfortunately, he also endows Dracula with a mind-controlling perfume, which seems like nefarious weapon more worthy of a Batman villain. Perhaps not coincidentally, the film often feels more campy than scary. However, that unruly messiness is often entertaining. Recommended for vampire fans when it eventually hits streamers, Besson’s Dracula opens this Friday (2/6) in theaters, including the AMC Lincoln Square in New York.