PORTLAND, Maine — [Editor's note: This article is a critical analysis of a film and does not represent the views of NEWS CENTER Maine, but that of the author.]
Dracula is returning to the big screen in a new horror comedy movie called "Renfield."
This time, he'll be played by Nicolas Cage, known for his larger-than-life characters.
Story
The legend of Dracula (Cage) has been told many times in literature, video games, and on the big screen. Of course, this latest movie isn't his story. "Renfield" is actually a film about Dracula's lesser-known servant.
Those familiar with Bram Stoker's original 1897 novel (or even the 1931 Bela Lugosi classic of the same title) will recognize the character of Renfield. In the aforementioned movie, he was played by Dwight Frye.
In "Renfield," the titular character is portrayed by Nicholas Hoult. He went to visit the Transylvanian vampire for a real estate deal and ultimately became Dracula's slave, mainly responsible for bringing him people to drain of blood.
Of course, in modern-day, killing people tends to attract more attention than it did in the 1800s. So Renfield moves Dracula from place to place for his safety.
"Renfield" takes place in New Orleans. And Dracula's servant is attending a support group for people trapped in toxic relationships, hoping to find some semblance of hope that he, too, can one day be free of his master.
While attempting to capture some more problematic humans to feed to his master, Renfield finds himself ensnared in a series of organized crime cases with the likes of Officer Rebecca Quincy (Awkwafina) and a local gangster named Teddy (Ben Schwartz).
To make matters worse, Dracula finds out about Renfield's attempts to break free and starts killing people he cares about in revenge.
Armed with temporary superhuman abilities every time he eats a bug, Renfield has to team up with Quincy to try and save New Orleans from the prince of darkness.
Analysis
"Renfield" is a supreme case of "what you see is what you get." Trailers promised an abused servant of Dracula attempting to break free, and a New Orleans cop being dragged into the mess. That's exactly what the roughly 90-minute movie offers.
Everyone plays their respective roles well, but nobody more so than Cage and Schwartz. Cage is a delight as the prince of darkness, hamming it up with a performance that makes it look like the actor is having a blast on screen. He's a great personification of evil and surprisingly nails the abusive role of a master who takes his servant for granted.
The only person having more fun than Cage appears to be Schwartz, who basically plays his character of Jean-Ralphio from "Parks and Rec" but with more guns and violence. Together, they make for the best parts of the movie.
Awkwafina plays her role fine and certainly looks just as cool as Hoult in action sequences that grow bloodier as the story continues. Director Chris McKay certainly knew how to make her into an action star during shootouts.
"Renfield" also embraces its gruesome fights that can only be described as pulled straight from "Mortal Kombat." Eventually, all the spilled blood starts to look like it's from a video game.
Some of the police elements are a little dry in a story about an evil vampire that doesn't take itself too seriously in the paranormal department. "Renfield" would've been better off dialing down the crime elements in favor of giving more time to supernatural hijinks that make the rest of the film so fun.
Also playing this week
Not to be outdone in the horror department this weekend, Russell Crowe stars in a new film called "The Pope's Exorcist." Here's the synopsis:
"Follow Gabriele Amorth, the Vatican's leading exorcist, as he investigates the possession of a child and uncovers a conspiracy the Vatican has tried to keep secret."
To see which movies are playing at a theater near you, click here.
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