REVIEW: Renfield (2024)

I've seen a couple of Dracula movies over the years. Apparently, this one shifts its focus a bit from Dracula and places it more on his accomplice, or more like his servant, who in this case is known as a “Familiar”. The movie Renfield comes out as a darkly comedic reinvention of the Dracula myth. It's a movie directed by Chris McKay and featuring Nicolas Cage as Dracula. And Nicholas Hoult as Renfield.

The film Renfield is a story about toxic relationships and personal emancipation. Nicholas Hoult delivers a wonderful portrayal of Renfield, a man utterly trapped in a co-dependent relationship with his vampiric master. His journey of self-discovery was surprisingly brought to light by his attendance at a support group for people in toxic relationships. Hoult really balances Renfield's inherent sweetness and vulnerability with his surprising capacity for extreme violence, especially when powered by eating insects. But somewhere along the line, he begins to seek a normal life.

However, the guy who stole the whole show is Nicolas Cage's Dracula. Cage plays a narcissistic villain. He revels in every line, every gesture, transforming Dracula into the ultimate abusive boss. He single-handedly elevates every scene he's in. His performance is just masterclass, even as he perfectly blends menace with laugh-out-loud humor.

This is that kind of film that features an abundance of blood, limbs being ripped apart, and exploding bodies. Yet, this wasn't actually intended for the sake of terror; it's stylized in such a way that it's purely for laughs. The action sequences were on point. The humor is also worth acknowledging; starting from the absurd premise of a centuries-old servant trying to break free from the world's most demanding boss. The support group scenes were well drafted also. The film even offered us some black-and-white moments with Cage and Hoult which makes it appear more practical.

Aside from the vampire-ish aspect of the film, we see a secondary storyline involving a New Orleans crime family and a feisty police officer, Rebecca Quincy, played by Awkwafina. The connection between these two storylines did not seem at all like something I had expected. And then the CGI blood which went spilling almost throughout half of the movie seemed a little too obvious to me.

I love the film because it knows exactly what it wants to be: a fun, bloody, and genuinely funny horror-comedy. It's not really aiming for deep philosophical insights or groundbreaking horror, but rather a wildly entertaining ride. Renfield took on a different tone unlike other Dracula movies I have seen. The movie is a blast, and for that I'm giving it an 8 out of 10. Thanks for reading!

Images from IMDb