A lavish, melodramatic Dracula reimagining with strong gothic-romance appeal, but the response suggests uneven execution and a tone that may feel more campy than chilling. Best approached as a glossy, obsessive love story with horror trappings rather than a definitive vampire epic.
Dracula
Where to watch: Buy
Movie · Horror · Fantasy
Wed · 2h 10m
Director: Luc Besson
Starring: Caleb Landry Jones, Zoë Bleu Sidel, Christoph Waltz
Overview
In late 15th-century Eastern Europe, Prince Vlad II’s bride is brutally murdered. As a result, he renounces God and damns Heaven itself. Cursed with eternal life, Vlad is reborn as Dracula, an immortal warlord who defies fate in a blood-soaked crusade to wrench his lost love back from death.
Director
Luc Besson
Cast
Caleb Landry Jones, Zoë Bleu Sidel, Christoph Waltz
Curator Review
Verdict
A lavish, melodramatic Dracula reimagining with strong gothic-romance appeal, but the response suggests uneven execution and a tone that may feel more campy than chilling. Best approached as a glossy, obsessive love story with horror trappings rather than a definitive vampire epic.
Best for
viewers who like gothic romance and tragic immortals
fans of stylized, high-concept horror-fantasy
audiences open to camp, excess, and heightened emotion
people intrigued by a fresh Dracula variation rather than strict fidelity
Skip if
you want a genuinely scary horror film
you prefer restrained, classical vampire storytelling
campy or self-serious melodrama turns you off
you are looking for a consensus crowd-pleaser
Overview
Luc Besson’s Dracula leans hard into operatic longing: a cursed prince, a dead bride, and centuries of devotion turned into a blood-soaked quest. The premise promises a lush fusion of horror, fantasy, and romance, and the film seems most interested in the erotic charge of obsession and grief rather than pure terror.
Worth noting
The audience reaction points to a movie that can feel overripe, uneven, and occasionally absurd, but not without a certain reckless charm. If you’re in the mood for a vampire saga that plays like feverish romantic fantasy, there’s enough spectacle and commitment here to make it worth a look.
Bottom line
Still, this is likely to divide viewers. Those expecting a chilling, elegant Dracula may come away frustrated, while viewers who enjoy maximalist gothic excess may find the whole thing weirdly entertaining. Its appeal is less “best Dracula” and more “big, messy, passionate swing.”
Top Letterboxd reviews
Valouu (0.5★) · 9578 likes
Before I share my review of the movie, I want to remind those who may not know yet... ⚠️ Luc Besson, accused by 9 women of sexual assault and rape. A director who married a 15yo minor when he was 32, she became pregnant one year later. A director who wrote sexually suggestive scenes involving a 12yo child (with the character played by Natalie Portman in "Léon: The Professional", who was also 12 at the time of filming). Fortunately, we… more
Noel_dasilva (1.5★) · 5212 likes
Bro really saw Nosferatu and said ”whats really missing here is for Dracula to sound more like Gru and for him to have little rocky minions”
ruth ୨ৎ · 4756 likes
if he won’t wait 400 years to find you again in your reincarnated form does he really love you?
zizathefrog (2.5★) · 4521 likes
The longest perfume advertisement I have ever seen
millie (3★) · 3750 likes
Count Dracula your wife's face card was lethal so i get it dude