When your superpower grosses you out, who do you call?
Renfield (2023) is that movie you’ve always dreamed of making, Count Dracula and his minion having to deal with a world that is self-conscious and has schadenfreude. A world in which evil vs evil can still lead to cheerleading.
Where corruption can, indeed, be burned right down to the ground by a dumpy cop and her stuttering … whatever he is.
That the stuttering Renfield is actually reminiscent of the acting style of Hugh Grant is a bit disquieting, I have to admit, and the violence is that inflated sort where, after a while, all you can do is groan and cry out, ARE YOU KIDDING?!
And if it doesn’t quite match its trailer, it’s still better than most, as Dracula chews the scenery, the bad guys, the good guys, and his own sense of angst. Or is it ennui?
No way I’ll recommend this, but having said that, it has its own ghoulish sense of humor and even class.
And if Renfield’s stuttering bothers you, just remember: Hugh Grant also made the beastly Lair of the White Worm (1988). Eeeeyagh.
