Dracula, a novel written by Bram Stoker in 1897, is a classic in the vampire genre, having set the blueprint for modern-day shows and movies such as Interview with the Vampire and What We Do in the Shadows. Directed by Luc Besson, Dracula: A Love Tale grants a fresh new perspective on this classic tale of yearning that defies death.

This is a film I’ve been wanting to see for a while. Vampires are a classic in folklore, and they’re probably some of the first creatures you think of when you picture horror movies or even classic Halloween costumes. While vampires are usually seen as bloodthirsty monsters, many people neglect to acknowledge their origin: romance, longing, and suicide.

Originally released on July 30th, 2025, Dracula is a romantic fantasy film following the protagonist, Prince Vladislav of Wallachia, who becomes Dracula after losing his wife, Elisabeta, in battle. Determined to find her reincarnation, he develops a perfume designed to attract women and spends hundreds of years looking for the reincarnation of Elisabeta. When he finally finds her, now named Mina and the fiancée of a solicitor named Jonathan Harper, he holds her captive and reawakens her memories before returning with her to his castle. Harper seeks the help of an occult priest, who begins a hunt for Dracula. After finding him, the priest convinces him to repent, resulting in Dracula allowing himself to be staked and dying in Mina’s arms after declaring his love for her.

Of course, something I tend to look at is the scene design. Nearly every scene in this movie gives you something new to look at, whether it’s set in a grand castle or a humble townhome. Each character had their own unique personalities, many of them evolving steadily throughout the film and showing development instead of being stationary. Elisabeta’s dress design in the beginning was truly dazzling, reflecting her grand status as Dracula’s queen.

While this movie has plenty of fun and fascinating aspects and plotlines, it has its negatives as well. For starters, the movie opens on a very intense “romantic encounter”, which I kind of feel like is an odd way to start a movie, even if it’s about a gothic romance. Towards the end of the movie, after Vlad sacrifices himself and breaks his vampiric curse, his gargoyle servants turn into small children, which did have me and Zach S. laughing for about ten minutes. It’s something that is never explained or acknowledged in the movie at any point by any characters.

  Overall, I think this was a great movie. I loved how it put Elisabeta and Vladislav’s love into perspective, putting emphasis on the fact that they really would die for each other. I think this kind of love is so beautiful and this move captured it almost perfectly. It received a 54% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and is available to watch on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV.