Renfield

Nicholas Cage as count Dracula, need I say more? 

This was the perfect popcorn flick to start the nice weather season. Violent, action-packed, and just plain fun. 

We follow Renfield, Dracula’s familiar/ servant/ assistant, but 90 years after Renfield started this job. Renfield says it has always been the same pattern, Dracula gets to full power, goes a “little overboard”, the church beats him, then Renfield has to nurse Dracula back to full power. This means they move pretty consistently. Renfield is exhausted and spends his little free time at a support group for people in co-dependent relationships. 

I really enjoyed looking at the relationship through the lens of co-dependency and narcissism. It reminded me of Lego Batman, looking at the relationship between Batman and Joker through the lens of romance. It’s a unique take on an age-old concept. The two Nicholases play well off one another.

However, this isn’t a point-blank remake of other Dracula films, we also got some new characters; like that of Officer Rebecca Quincy. She is one of the few non-corrupt officers in the New Orleans Police Department, and because of this, she has been professionally knee-capped, only able to work traffic stops. The rest of the department is under the thumb of the local crime family.

Beltrami’s soundtrack doesn’t really stick out, even re-listening to it while writing this there’s no wow factor. It’s inoffensive and works as intended. The movie also uses footage from the iconic original Dracula from Universal Pictures for flashback scenes. Nicholas Hoult and Nicolas Cage are inserted into footage seamlessly with editing techniques. There is no button scene during the credits.

If you’re looking for a goofy bloody movie featuring Dracula, this is it. It’s ridiculous in the best possible way. It was exactly what the trailer promised.