‘Renfield’ Spoiler-Free Review
Image Source: IMDb
Renfield hit theaters on April 14th to an incredibly underwhelming reception. The film made just over $7 million at the box office putting it in last place of new releases. This statistic is insane to me because the film is the most fun I have had in years at the movie theater. Renfield provides the perfect amount of gore and jump scares and pays homage to one of the best Draculas in cinematic history, Bela Lugosi.
The film follows the story of Renfield, Count Dracula’s henchman who in all other iterations is portrayed as a mostly crazy man that was driven mad by the count. In this new take, Renfield is a man on a mission to free himself of the count and the toxic relationship that he has been trapped in for centuries. There is a ton of gore, but the story is the star of this film as it explores what happened to Renfield between when he is first seen in the classic Dracula films to when we see him again as a madman being locked inside an asylum. The only weakness of the story is the romance that is woven in between Renfield and Officer Rebecca. In theory, the romance is an interesting idea, but it pales in comparison to the rest of the story, making it feel quite dull and unfinished.
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Image Source: IMDb
The special effects in this film add to how amazing it is. One minute you’re looking at one of the most well-done iterations of Dracula to ever be put on screen, and the next you are looking at someone’s arms being cut off with a serving platter and chocolate syrup-style blood spewing around the room. I can understand how this would turn some fans away, but in my opinion, it added to the genius of this film. There were homages paid to Bela Lugosi’s 1931 Dracula as well as slasher films for the late 70s - early 80s. The final moments of the film keep the dark humor alive and honestly made me wish for an extra 30 minutes or so of screen time!
Nicholas Hoult is a wildly underrated actor who unfortunately has been flying under the radar. He is mostly known for his role as Beast in the most recent X-Men films. His films The Menu and Warm Bodies went mostly unnoticed, and his role as Peter III in Hulu’s The Great is unknown to most fans. His portrayal of Renfield gives the character a complexity that we have never seen and a brand of humor that had my sides sore. Nicolas Cage is back and better than ever as a power-hungry Count Dracula who breathes new life into a character that many feel has been overdone. The dark humor that he brings to the character works amazingly with the story, and his on-screen chemistry with Hoult was undeniable.
This film is going to be a must-watch for me every Spooky Season, and I fully anticipate it becoming a quick cult classic.
Renfield is currently in theaters everywhere!
Rating: 10/10
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