There’s nothing wrong with shunting vintage villains into the modern world. Universal rightly made a killing with The Invisible Man, which set up a chilling contest between a gas-lighting control freak and and his one-timev victim. Renfield’s scriptwriter, Ryan Ridley, takes the same idea and milks it for laughs in this gory action comedy about minions and monsters. Nicolas Cage, in a very on-brand move, underwent a dental procedure so he could play Dracula. The end result, though, is ok, but no classic. Cage must be thinking, “I shaved my teeth for this?”
A fun prologue tweaks footage from Tod Browning’s 1931 horror masterpiece, Dracula, and makes clear that bumbling Brit, Renfield (Nicholas Hoult), has spent decades propping up his toxically narcissistic and mendacious bloodsucker boss. Cut to a self-help group in 2023 New Orleans, and our co-dependent hero is realising he deserves better.
Soon, inspired by the bravery of mafia-flouting cop Rebecca Quincy (Awkafina), Renfield has ditched goth-fop chic for rainbow-coloured sweaters, causing a desperate Drac to form an alliance with the Lobo mafia clan that controls the police force, led by psychotically purring matriarch, Ella (Shohreh Aghdashloo), and her feckless son, Teddy (Ben Schwartz).
A resplendantly dapper and suitably hyperactive Cage makes the most of any piquant lines that come his way. This Dracula needs the blood of the innocent to restore his strength and, early on in the proceedings, demands Renfield bring him a busload of cheerleaders. “Female cheerleaders?” queries his stooge, causing the Count to snap, “Don’t make it a sexual thing.”
Cage and Hoult are a hoot; if only they had more time together. Instead, director Chris McKay bombards us with simultaneously generic and illogical fight scenes, in which Renfield, (who gains astonishing strength every time he eats bugs), biffs and boffs disposable goons with all the bright-eyed brio of one of the X-Men (particularly distracting, given that Hoult starred in that series as Beast), while the prince of darkness grows in power even though, for the majority of the movie, the only humans he tucks into are non-nutritious baddies.
As ever, Awkwafina is pure sunshine, but the script, like a big, dark cloud, keeps getting in the way (unless you find the word “bitch” inherently hilarious).
The whole cast try so hard – Brandon Scott Jones, as the happy-clappy leader of the self-help group, is a joy – and incidental details cast a spell. The meta end-credits,(accompanied by noodly mood music, show Renfield dancing in the street and the beautiful Cage (who looks more like his hero, Christopher Lee, with every passing year) striking trashy poses. Basically, when this film isn’t trying to have a plot, it’s bloody delightful.
93mins, cert 15
