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Besson’s ‘Dracula’ Trades Horror for Lush Romance, German Reviews Say

The film reframes the count as a yearning, style‑driven figure whose spectacle and sensuality take precedence over fright.

Overview

  • Luc Besson’s 2025 adaptation stars Caleb Landry Jones as Dracula, Zoë Bleu as Elizabeta and Christoph Waltz in a priestly, Van Helsing–adjacent role.
  • Reviews describe a neo‑Gothic production filled with opulent sets, elaborate costumes and fantastical flourishes such as animated gargoyles and choreographed tableaux.
  • Critics say the narrative emphasizes a centuries‑spanning romantic longing over menace, presenting a dandy‑like, melancholic vampire rather than a terrifying predator.
  • The film features explicit sexual content and graphic violence, with sequences noted for realistic bloodshed and multiple decapitations.
  • Outlets praise the visual ambition but argue the movie adds little to the Dracula canon and delivers few genuine scares, with the antagonist and hunter both seen as insufficiently threatening.