Film: Renfield

It has been a long time coming for Renfield.

A film that, before the failure of the Dark Universe at the very first hurdle in 2017’s ill-fated The Mummy, looked very different when announced all the way back in 2014. However, Chris McKay’s horror comedy based on Bram Stoker’s towering story and generations of Dracula cinema, has clearly rolled with the changes because this film is a future classic if ever I saw one.

The story centres on Renfield (Nicholas Hoult), the long-suffering familiar to Count Dracula (Nicolas Cage), who after generations of servitude is looking to escape this life and most toxic of working relationships, and in New Orleans of all places, he may have a chance to do just that but his master will be none too pleased about it!

A Fright Night style blast of ultra-comically violent horror hilarity, filled with real love for the lore of Stoker's enduring creation and his many onscreen incarnations over the years. From Nosferatu homage to the stories modern day twists, this is a film with a classical backbone but filled with some updated sensibilities, and with this in mind and its wild genre cocktail, the tone can be pretty breakneck at times, but what a ride this is to go on.

The film manages to both respect the origins of its chosen Universal monster, while doing something timely and rather crazy with it. In this case, detailing a story of abusive relationships and escaping/surviving them, through the dark veil of a vampiric story. Renfield is ferocious, visually vibrant fun, and has hands down the coolest end credits I have seen in years to boot. I loved every minute of its perfectly judged running length and look forward to the day that the film acquires its deserved audience because it really deserves the love.

Nicholas Hoult is fantastic as Renfield, capturing both heart and pain in the part, while Awkwafina’s supporting story as resilient officer Rebecca is a strong accompaniment to the film’s core concept, a side story that is given its own punch thanks to the mobster villains of the piece, played joyously by Shohreh Aghdashloo and Ben Schwartz, as Bellafrancesca Lobo and her son Teddy respectively!

But - somewhat inevitably - the film is stolen by a cape swirlingly fab Nicolas Cage, whose portrayal of Count Dracula is the best big screen Dracula since Gary Oldman, every moment in his company is a gothic, campy and bloody delight, and he is so clearly relishing the role and having such a great time in it, that you are infectiously swept up in his gaze. Tipping the cowl to the likes of Max Shreck, Bela Lugosi, Christopher Lee and the aforementioned Oldman in the part, Cage - pun intended - sinks his teeth into the performance and the film. I would love to see a solo Nicolas Cage Dracula film off the back of this!

In short, Renfield is batty, bloody and utterly enjoyable. Go out and see it, I command you! One of the most pleasant big screen surprises of 2023 so far, and the year has already conjured up a few.