When one imagines a camp-driven horror comedy that's centered around the character of Dracula, there's no better fit for the role other than eccentric thespian actor Nicolas Cage. Add to that, a bold twist to the traditional story regarding Dracula's loyal servant Renfield and what audiences have is a clever concept with bankable stars that's extremely difficult to miss. What audiences end up getting however, is a reasonably fun yet somewhat underwhelming horror-comedy blend that works just well enough to entertain audiences, despite never fully utilizing it's concept to maximum potential.
In this modern reimagining of the classic Dracula tale, Renfield has Dracula's decades-long henchmen and fellow inmate at the lunatic asylum, longing for a new life away from the Count given the latters various demands, and the endless amount of bloodshed that comes with them. Renfield boasts a catchy concept along with the proper bizarre actor to play Dracula (Nicolas Cage), yet it quite often leaves something to be desired. As a modern monster tale that's focused around the character of Dracula and his loyal servant, the filmmakers provide an experience that works as being cheesy, strident, and ridiculously funny to watch although the end result never seizes the opportunity to completely capitalize on its catchy concept nor make the most usage of its whacky main star in a role he's perfectly suited for.
Much of Renfield's energy as a fun comedic spin on the Dracula story comes from the casts enthusiastic performances with the latter consisting of popular A-list stars like Cage, Nicholas Hoult, and Awkwafina. Hoult does a terrific job with carrying the bulk of the film as Dracula's loyal servant, whose desperate to extricate himself from his toxic master. He conveys all the right mannerisms required to play his character, and shows a redeemable side to Renfield despite the horrific commands carried out at the request of his master. Cage brilliantly hams it up as Dracula with his presence being delightfully fun to watch despite feeling a bit minimal in comparison to Hoult and Awkwafina's screentime. Despite this, Cage eats up the scenery with him playing the role with the necessary amount of camp demanded while having an absolute blast in doing so. Awkwafina impressively holds her own against both as New Orleans Police Officer, Rebecca Quincy, whose struggling to do the right thing while serving under a corrupt police department as well as being Renfield's love interest. The actress not only hits all the right notes with her character but displays surprising levels of emotion that not just suits her character, but adds a touch of family drama to the story. The rest of Renfield's cast consist of strong character actors who deliver terrific work like Ben Schwartz as Teddy, mob enforcer and son of matriarch mob boss, Bellafrancesca, with Shoreham Aghdashloo as Teddy's powerful mother, Adrian Martinez as Rebecca's co-worker Chris, and Brandon Scott Jones as Renfield's support group leader, Mark.
With Renfield's directing, Chris McKay does a decent job of bringing the world of Dracula to life while giving it a modern day approach. Although the films overall look feels standard, McKay goes to the extreme with the amount of blood shown in the film with the violence intentionally being executed in comical fashion. Audiences are treated to numerous volcanic blood spurts including limbs and intestines being torn and spilled out. While the violence is presented as being over the top, it serves to reinforce the stories monster elements. At 93 minutes, Renfield is fast-paced and moves briskly while never being long enough for audiences to get bored. While there's nothing remarkable about McKay's directing, he delivers the appropriate tone for the story while doing a noteworthy job of blending the films horror and comedy elements together smoothly with neither overlapping.
When it comes to scriptwriting, Renfield's story ranges as being serviceable with its straightforward narrative regarding Dracula's henchmen trying to part ways from his toxic master while learning that garnering enough support will bring contentment. Other key themes at play within the films story are corruption with Awkwafina's character struggling to be a good cop in an increasingly corruptible environment, loyalty as Renfield must choose between obeying Dracula or making a change for the better given that his character experiences loneliness while serving under Count until meeting Rebecca. With Dracula's inclusion, one expects his character to be front and center to the story with a powerful arc established for his character. Sadly, that isn't the case here as he feels a bit shortchanged in terms of screentime with Renfield providing the heart and soul of the story along with Rebecca having a bigger role. As a whole, Renfield's writing gets the job done in delivering the type of film that audiences expect to see, but there's very little here that doesn't feel as if it's been lifted from other films with character beats and subplots introduced feeling familiar in addition to Renfield's characters narrative device being done to death in other stories. With a film that includes Dracula as a key central figure in the story, it's disappointing that the writing surrounding him feels rather underwhelming.
Despite its misgivings, the film is at its most effective when focused on Hoult, Cage, and Awkwafina's characters with the latter serving as its saving grace when the others aren't around. As a story that's meant to deliver campy fun while throwing a slick modern day spin on the mythology of Dracula, Renfield offers up a satisfying gory experience with Cage's corny performance being the sole reason to see it. It's a shame however, that audiences aren't given more of him.
Final Verdict: Watchable mainly for the performances of Nicolas Cage and Nicholas Hoult.
Images Courtesy Of Universal Pictures
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