Me encantan vampire movies and except for that dreadful love story trilogy which made Pattinson and Stewart worldwide stars, I have enjoyed immensely many iterations of this genre, based on the classic by Bram Stoker.
In Renfield, Count Dracula is portrayed by Oscar winner Nicolas Cage as he hams it up before the camera - ghoulish make up and all! However, he is not the main character here though. Nicholas Hoult is. Yes, that guy from that zombie movie who learns how to become human and fall in love. Hoult though, is more handsome in this movie, now that he's a full grown male adult.
The movie uses the same plot point in the original Bram Stoker novel with Hoult, being the lawyer Dracula tricks to become his loyal servant. Renfield though, is an action comedy spiced up with a little existential angst - answering philosophical questions like - why am I codependent in a relationship or why am I not happy or how do I take control of my life? This subplot of the story plays an important part since this is where Dracula gets his nourishment.
To add to the complications in Hoult's character, the movie introduces Awkwafina, whose comedic skills are shown here. Interestingly, although they do look like an odd pair - there is great chemistry between Hoult and Awkwafina - and it's a testament to their skills as actors. The interplay of their characters is fun to watch.
The movie has some funny scenes though - and expectedly, since this is a vampire movie - gore and violence are the order of the day. I am surprised though by its R16 rating since the video games many young boys play nowadays are far more violent.
I also enjoyed watching Shoreh Agdashloo here, who plays a matriarchal bit** crime leader in very snappy suits. It's admirable that they put three Asian-looking actors in the major roles to give the cast a more diverse look.
This is a fun movie to watch and it's not the horror movie you were expecting if you want to scream or get tense. It's more of a cute action horror movie with classic literature characters given a post-pandemic uplift.
