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Renfield
2023
Director- Chris McKay
Cast- Nicholas Hoult, Awkwafina, Nicolas Cage, Shohreh
Aghdashloo, Ben Schwartz, Adrian Martinez, Brandon Scott Jones, Jenna Kanell,
This film
follows, as the name implies, the exploits of Dracula’s long-suffering minion,
Renfield. But make no mistake, this is not a serious horror movie. Its tongue
is planted firmly in its cheek from beginning to end.
Without
spoiling anything, the plot can be summed up thusly; Renfield (Nicholas Hoult),
while carrying out his master’s orders, runs afoul of a mafia family. That same
family is being hounded by a cop (Awkwafina) who wants justice and revenge for
the death of her father. She and Renfield have to work together to deal with
their mutual problem in spectacularly gory fashion.
Long time
fans of Dracula films will appreciate several tips of the hat to the genre such
as Renfiled referencing how often his master dies and then has to be brought
back. I particularly liked a few scenes from the original 1931 Dracula with Nic
Cage’s face digitally replacing Bela Lugosi. But don’t worry. These scenes are
done purely for laughs and aren’t meant to be a serious attempt at replacing
Lugosi.
The gore
is so bloody that it crosses beyond horrifying and slips into slapstick. It’s
an entertaining combination of horror, comedy, action and satire. The highlight
though is Nic Cage. You really get the impression that the director let him off
his leash and Cage really chews up the scenery. He plays Dracula as an exaggerated
super villain with great comic effect.
If you are
expecting a serious film, or an in-depth examination of Dracula’s famous
supporting character, this isn’t the film you’re looking for. But if you want 90
minutes of solid entertainment, that’s also a bit of a love letter to the
genre, then check Renfield out.
