First Impression: Renfield

So last night it was a family cinema trip to see Renfield (Director Chris McKay) and I have to admit a bit of trepidation. I do like a Nicolas Cage (Vampire’s Kiss) movie but there was every chance that things might go wrong with this…

Well, my worry was for nothing as I thoroughly enjoyed it. In fact, the whole family did. Starting with Renfield (Nicholas Hoult) introducing himself and immediately into a high octane action piece as hunters attack Dracula (Nicolas Cage), the action then slows and we are in black and white as Renfield takes us to the beginning with scenes from Dracula (1931) and the two characters meeting. The film is a sequel of sorts to that (the ending of the '31 film notwithstanding and squarely ignored). The use of the footage was excellent, the actors replacing the originals fit nicely (though Cage looked perhaps a little more like Carlos Villarías from the Spanish 1931 Dracula than Lugosi) and it then returns back to the action and we see Renfield saving his master, who then decimates the hunters – but not without significant (sunlight) damage. To mention here, Dracula turning to smoke, going down a hunter’s throat and exploding him from the inside – not the first time such a kill has been done, but with high budget and panache.

Indeed there is a fair old amount of gore to this film, including heads punched away and limbs torn off as the movie progresses. The recuperating Dracula is ensconced in an abandoned New Orleans hospital and Renfield attends a self-help group for persons with co-dependent personalities – removing the problem people from the attendees' lives by capturing them and feeding them to Dracula as he heals. The film expands Renfield’s bug eating by making it a source of superhuman power for him (and, presumably, responsible for his longevity). If he is severely injured then Dracula’s blood can heal extreme wounds. Into the mix comes foul-mouthed traffic cop Rebecca Quincy (Awkwafina) who wants to take the Lobo crime family down – they murdered her cop father and the force does not seem to be prepared to take the family on, even when she manages to bring hellion of the family, Teddy (Ben Schwartz), in.

Primarily an action-comedy, there are good laughs in this, with the genre jokes coming from a place of celebration of the genre. The acting is great – Hoult makes a very personable Renfield, his manners making him a man out of time (and we get the occasional Dwight Frye chuckle) and the character contrasts to Awkwafina’s Rebecca really well. She adds an earthiness to the proceedings as, perhaps, the only straight cop in New Orleans. Cage is magnificent as Dracula – it is one of three roles he always wanted to play and the mix of comedy and malevolence works so very, very well and plays to his strengths as an actor.

So there are my first impressions. I’ll review proper when it hits the home market but I do urge you to see this one, it was great fun – the humour hit just the right spot for me, buckets of gore at times and Cage doing what he does best. I recognise that it might not be for everyone – comedy is so very subjective – but hopefully it will hit well for most.

The imdb page is here.