Rating: 4/5
Set in present-day New Orleans, “Renfield” follows the story of an often unknown character in the “Dracula” universe, Robert Montague Renfield (Nicholas Hoult), and his complicated relationship with his master, Dracula (Nicolas Cage).
In traditional stories, Renfield is simply known as Dracula’s servant, doing the dirty work for Dracula and essentially following all of Dracula’s orders, unable to express his own needs. The theme of freeing yourself is a recurring topic for the movie, with Renfield eventually trying to take back his own life and free himself of his codependent relationship with Dracula by distancing himself.
The visual effects were incredible. From Count Dracula turning into a swarm of bats and smoke to the unrealistic but incredibly gory violence, the movie took every opportunity it had to show off its visuals.
Aside from the visual effects, I found myself equally impressed with the costume designs. Dracula’s design in this film was amazing and the attention to detail was spot on. Dracula’s skin complexion was pale white and pasty due to his inability to come in contact with sunlight, and the costume itself was a throwback to Dracula’s classic look with a cape and top hat.
Cage’s portrayal of Dracula created a sense of anxiety every time he was on the screen. From his snakish movements to his manipulative monologues, Cage showed a version of Dracula that is completely different to previous depictions of the character, such as Bela Lugosi who played Dracula in the classic “Dracula”.
While the movie does have a lot of enjoyable aspects, I did not appreciate the disconnected plotlines. The movie also follows a police officer, Rebecca Quincy (Awkwafina), and her desire to bring the killers of her father, the Lobo Mob, to justice. While this side plot does contribute to the larger story, I found myself unable to connect with Quincy the same way I was able to connect with Renfield. This led to Quincy’s and Renfield’s eventual meet up in the movie to feel incredibly abrupt, as the the two seem to kick it off almost immediately without then spending much time on the screen together.
“Renfield” provides a unique and fresh perspective on the classic universe of Dracula. Although the plot is disconnected at times, I still found myself drawn in with the visuals and acting and would recommend this film to anyone wanting a good chuckle.