Dracula: A Love Tale ★★★

Released: 1 December 2025 (Digital)

Director: Luc Besson

Starring: Caleb Landry Jones, Zoe Bleu Sidel

Back in 2023, filmmaker Luc Besson (Leon: The Professional) and actor Caleb Landry Jones (Get Out) worked together on DogMan, a unique crime thriller centering on a traumatised individual leading life in the margins of society with his dogs. Their latest collaboration is a tad more familiar but just as playful, with Besson taking on Bram Stoker’s iconic gothic horror novel Dracula, once again casting Landry Jones in the titular role. Besson’s rendition features a 15th century prince, who denounces God after the devastating loss of his wife. Inheriting an eternal curse, he is condemned to wander the centuries as Dracula, defying fate and death itself, guided by a single hope – to reunite with his lost love. With a focus on yearning and romance, and an excellent lead performance, Dracula: A Love Tale nails the elements of gothic horror that viewers long for. However, not all elements work, with an elongated run-time and some tonally inconsistent choices holding it back.

Fresh off the back of Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein in November and Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu at the back end of last year, viewers have once again become hooked on these gothic horror stories that we’ve seen developed many times over the years. Whilst Besson’s Dracula: A Love Tale doesn’t quite come as close to those two in notability, it perfectly highlights the best assets of the sub-genre and translates them beautifully. The script puts a yearning romance at the front and centre, delivering a version of Dracula that spends centuries looking for his long lost love. Traveling the globe in the hopes of finding her again, and stopping at nothing to ensure they get to live out their days in their castle undisturbed, there’s a reason this film’s title is Dracula: A Love Tale in multiple countries. The initial frames feature Dracula and his love at their finest, easing from food fights to fornication and intertwining their bodies whenever they can. Doomed love and yearning are two genre favourites when it comes to gothic horror and romance, and luckily, Besson delivers this tenfold.

It’s not only the themes and script that remind us why we love this sub-genre, but the visuals, too. Immersive from start to finish, Dracula features gorgeous ballgowns, vivacious updo’s, dark city streets and a signature gothic castle with a looming frozen lake in the middle of it all. The cinematography does a great job at showcasing the locations, putting the setting at the forefront to really help set the scene and immerse us straight into a world that’s equally new and familiar. With its sense of adventure and travel, and luxurious locations including ballrooms and fairs, it feels grand in scope and stunning in aesthetics. The period setting is entirely believable, the costumes are breathtaking and the locations, particularly the signature castle, look wonderful.

Topping this adaptation off are the fantastic performances delivered by a stellar cast. Those familiar with the work of Caleb Landry Jones will expect him to ace this role, and that he does. Known for playing kooky, off-beat and even disturbing characters in many genre films including 2017’s Get Out and 2021’s Nitram, Landry Jones confidently adds Dracula to his impressive body of work. He naturally embodies the yearning that this version of the character so desperately cleaves, and makes even the strangest of accents somehow work. He’s fantastic. Following very shortly after his turn in Frankenstein just a few weeks ago, Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds) graces our screens once again and fits perfectly into the narrative and tone put forward by Besson. Stealing the screen with his effortlessly quirky performance as the Priest, he’s a welcome addition to the cast. Of course, with a script this focused on the romance, good chemistry between Landry Jones and his lover is needed to pull this off. Luckily, Zoe Bleu Sidel (The Bling Ring) brings this in droves, giving a mesmerising dual performance as Elisabeta and Mina. Her presence commands the screen and thus your attention, and the chemistry between the pair is off the charts. Matilda De Angelis (The Undoing) is also notable.

Like many adaptations of popular source material, not all elements work, and despite Besson’s filmmaking mostly impressing, he can’t quite keep his themes and ideas cohesive and consistent enough to help Dracula rise from good to great. Clocking in at just over two hours, the run-time feels too long for the story being told, with some meandering throughout the plot that easily could’ve been trimmed. Borrowing certain elements is expected, especially when developing a story that we’ve seen developed quite often, but Dracula has many aspects that feel copycat, especially the aesthetic of Landry Jones once Dracula is shown in all his centuries-old glory. Much of the story feels very grounded, with a romance and musings on religion and God taking centre stage, but Besson also introduces something else – something rather fantastical – that will make or break this viewing experience for audiences. Tonally jarring and not quite up to scratch in terms of CGI, there’s a very bold addition in here that will undeniably leave some scratching their heads. The lack of horror is also very apparent, with only a handful of sequences offering up any blood, gore or scares. This one’s for the romantics rather than the gorehounds.

Hand in hand, Besson and Landry Jones have created another notable genre film that’s more than worth a viewing. Excellent performances from its ensemble, stunning visuals and a beautiful depiction of yearning romance make this adaptation a warranted one, and interesting discourse on religion and love ensures it feels quite intimate and personal. It’s far from perfect, falling victim to an overly lengthy run-time, plenty of odd choices and one too many borrowed ideas, but as soon as the story takes us back to that stunning castle and Landry Jones monologuing about his love, it’s easy to forgive.