For the past quarter century or so, Universal Studios has suffered from something I like to call “The Mummy’s Curse”: the belief, following the success of the swashbuckling 1999 reboot of that Egypt-centric horror classic, that the best way to revitalize their stable of classic movie monsters is by placing them at the center of bombastic, CGI-heavy action blockbusters. One can see where this would be a good idea on paper; given recent box office trends, it would seem to make sense to fashion would-be tentpole pictures after superhero spectacles. But the numbers don’t bear this out. 2014’s Dracula Untold was an unmitigated failure, as was the 2017 re-reboot of The Mummy, which effectively put a stake through the heart (to mix monstrous metaphors) of the proposed “Dark Universe” mega-franchise. Conversely, consider the critical and commercial success of Leigh Whannell’s 2020 take on The Invisible Man, which made the bold move of reimagining the horror classic as, well, a horror movie. To an observer, this would make perfect sense– but, of course, the observer is not a studio executive, hell-bent on market-testing every franchise within an inch of its algorithmic life.
Universal’s latest attempt to return to its golden age of gods and monsters, Renfield, is, at the very least, a step in the right direction; it understands that the instantly recognizable visage of the classic, cape-and-fangs Dracula is an asset, not a hindrance, and it doesn’t shy away from overt horror movie imagery. But it still can’t keep from getting in the way of itself with endless action set pieces, watering down a great premise into yet another crypto-superhero slugfest.
Renfield is, nominally anyway, a direct sequel to 1931’s Dracula; an amusing opening sequence repurposes footage from the original, with Nicolas Cage digitally replacing Bela Lugosi’s bloodsucker, and Nicholas Hoult standing in for Dwight Frye as his titular familiar. Via narration, Renfield explains that he has been traveling with the Count ever since, fetching victims and nursing his master back to full power whenever he gets Van Helsing’d (which apparently happens quite a bit). Taking up residence in a suitably creepy abandoned hospital in New Orleans, Renfield begins to feel guilty for aiding and abetting these centuries of bloodshed; to make sure he only destroys people who deserve it, he attends Codependents Anonymous meetings and seeks out the speakers’ abusers. But the more time he spends with these damaged souls, the more Renfield begins to suspect that he may be in a codependent relationship of his own, and decides to put his life together one self-help poster at a time.
This, again, is a very funny premise, and Renfield is at its best when it focuses on Hoult, gaunt and disheveled, donning a pastel sweater and parroting pop psychology. Unfortunately, as in those other would-be reboots– as well as Cage’s last film, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent– this charming comedy is stuffed inside a strangely unironic action movie framework, here involving a scrappy police officer (Awkwafina) and the would-be drug kingpin (Ben Schwartz) who killed her father. Additions are made to the Dracula mythos to facilitate its many fight scenes: the insects Renfield devours possess him with superhuman strength, you see, and Dracula’s blood has the ability to heal any wound and resurrect the dead (one wonders why they never thought to utilize these powers in the apparently canon 1931 film). The result is a film given to lengthy fight scenes which, outrageously over-the-top as they are, aren’t quite what I came here for.
Yet the stuff that I did come here for is entertaining enough that I’m willing to give Renfield a pass, albeit a narrow one. At the top of the list, unsurprisingly, is Cage, who is clearly having the time of his life as Count Dracula. In a testament to the actor’s peculiar genius, he is perhaps the first person in history to successfully imitate Bela Lugosi without attempting a Hungarian accent, instead drawing inspiration from Lugosi’s mannerisms and facial tics (Cage’s Dracula voice sounds more like Dudley Moore playing Caligula). Cage is a master of wringing laughs from the briefest of lines or the smallest of gestures; even during passages where he’s unrecognizable under mounds of effects makeup, you can still make out a signature cock of his eyebrows. It’s a genuinely hilarious performance, and a joy to watch.
The rest of the film is at its best when it bends itself toward Cage’s wavelength. Hoult is as fine a candidate as any to take on the manic mantle of Dwight Frye, and the character of Renfield is a perfect vehicle for his off-kilter charms. There are some very funny lines in the support group scenes, as Renfield’s fellow “victims” try to process his stories of his boss in terms of a more garden-variety narcissist (in an amusing runner, “Dracula” is just as much of a household name in this world as he is in ours). And the film looks great, its New Orleans drenched in a candy-colored Spirit Halloween neon which will surely place it in October rotation on basic cable for years to come. I’ll probably tune in on some lazy Sunday as I graze on Halloween candy, and I’m sure I’ll have a chuckle or two, but I’ll probably be looking at my phone during the action scenes– which is maybe how it was intended to be viewed in the first place.
Renfield
2023
dir. Chris McKay
93 min.
Opens Friday, 4/14 at the Somerville Theatre and theaters everywhere
