Starring Nicholas Hoult, Nicholas Cage, Ben Schwartz, Awkwafina, Adrian Martinez and Shohreh Aghdashloo. Written by Ryan Ridley from a story by Robert Kirkman. Directed by Chris McKay. Running time 93 minutes. Budget $65 million.
Sadly tanking in its opening weekend taking just 12 million dollars. This comedy horror sees poor old Renfield (Nicholas Hoult), Dracula's long suffering familiar decide after 90 years that it's time to break away from his abusive master and try and live a normal life and enroles in a 12-step self-help group in present day New Orleans, but fate and a local mafia family has other things in mind for the pair of them.
After the disasters of Universal's The Wolf Man (2010) andThe Mummy starring Tom Cruise back in 2017, Universal have been struggling to make their legendary back catalogue of classic movie monsters like Dracula, Frankenstein, the Invisible Man, the aforementioned Mummy, the Werewolf and the Creature From the Black Lagoon relevant. The Invisible Man in 2020 was a satisfying success and so after ditching the idea of the Dark Universe in favour of stand alone movies we have the latest attempt to breathe life back into the Prince of Darkness himself!
Using the ever popular ingredient 'humour' as it's elixir Renfield wastes no time at all in declaring its intentions of being the funniest and goriest film you've ever seen. Starting with the showdown between Dracula and an unnamed Van Helsing, in a scene there to signpost a later plot point, we are thrown into the action as Cage unleashes his inner Bela Lugosi and cranks it up to 11. It's a savvy move, cos it's clear that he relishes the role, so it's sad that Cage's Dracula spends much time away from the action, depriving us of a chance to watch him and Nicholas Hoult, channeling a young Hugh Grant, do their thang together. Hoult, like Cage is good and effortlessly engages his comedy chops giving the film its romantic core as he develops a relationship with a traffic cop played by Awkwafina.
The film is funny, gory, and best of all doesn't outstay its welcome coming in at a delightfully brisk 93 minutes.
Personally I could have done without the whole mafia angle to the story, there to provide an action-packed third act showdown. I loved the whole self-help group sequences and kinda wished it had downplayed the action for a little more of that.
Funny, blood soaked and gruesome. This is a film that didn't deserve that brutal early death Stateside.
8/10
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