fredVie

It takes real nerve to tackle Bram Stoker's most-filmed anti-hero in 2025. First, the role has already been immortalised by everyone from Bela Lugosi to Gary Oldman, so comparisons are savage. Second, gothic horror sits miles away from Luc Besson's usual playground of kinetic sci-fi (The Fifth Element) and neon crime capers (Léon). Walking in, I honestly wasn't sure whether we'd get an idiosyncratic triumph or a beautiful train wreck.

Happily, it's closer to the former. Visually, the film is a feast: swirling Carpathian blizzards bleed into candle-lit castle corridors, while Besson's trademark flair for colour and movement gives the vampire myth a fresh, almost operatic sheen. The cast meet the challenge head-on-Dracula himself is equal parts seductively reptilian and heartbreakingly lonely, and the supporting ensemble never drops the ball. I found myself grinning at several sly nods to past adaptations yet never felt trapped in pastiche.

Where the film stumbles is in the marrow of its story. The plot beats are solid but seldom surprising, and a mid-act detour about Dracula's centuries-old heartbreak lingers a few crimson drops too long. Trim twenty minutes, sharpen a couple of character arcs, and we might be talking instant classic. As it stands, Dracula is a very good film-bold, stylistically sumptuous, thoroughly entertaining-but not quite the genre-redefining masterpiece its ambition hints at.

Verdict: 7.5 / 10. Worth the ticket for the imagery and performances alone; just don't expect it to eclipse Coppola's fang-print on the legend.

I had the chance to see this film at a preview screening, and I'm glad I didn't have to pay for it because it was truly mediocre. Starting with the worst part: the script is completely hollow, and the humor is just dumb, lacking any trace of wit. Vulgarity is omnipresent, which wouldn't be an issue if there were at least some subtlety, but no, it's just vulgarity for the sake of vulgarity, likely aimed at pleasing a certain type of audience. In short, there isn't much to say about this French comedy. Of course, Michèle Laroque and Gérard Darmon are seasoned actors with nothing left to prove, but what were they doing in this disaster? The pleasant surprise, however, is the lead male actor, whom I didn't know before, but he delivers a solid performance and adds a bit of value to the film. Another thing I enjoyed were the opening scenes with the kidnappers, which were well-shot, but unfortunately, the rest of the film didn't follow through.