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RENFIELD: A COMEDIC TAKE ON DRACULA’S MANSERVANT
In Renfield, director Chris McKay and screenwriter Ryan Ridley take a comedic approach to Bram Stoker’s classic Dracula tale. The film revolves around Robert Montague Renfield (Nicholas Hoult), Dracula’s simpering and terrified manservant, who seeks to break free from his undead master’s grip. However, despite Nicolas Cage’s intermittently delightful and deranged portrayal of Dracula, the movie is let down by lazy writing that doesn’t play to anyone’s strengths.
A STORYLINE LOOSELY BASED ON BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA
Renfield is a comedic take on Bram Stoker’s Dracula, focusing on Dracula’s faithful servant, Renfield. The film doesn’t spend much time explaining how the sadistic demon first ensnared Renfield, a lawyer, and convinced him that he’d be granted immortality in exchange for doing the vampire’s bidding.
As the movie opens, Renfield is already tired of living under his undead master’s thrall and looking for ways to free himself. However, he’s repeatedly drawn back into his servitude, even when presented with opportunities to break free.
A CAST OF CHARACTERS WHOSE STRENGTHS AREN’T FULLY REALIZED
Despite the film’s talented cast, including Awkwafina, Ben Schwartz, and Shohreh Aghdashloo, the writing doesn’t allow any of the characters to truly shine. Even Cage’s turn as Dracula isn’t enough to make up for the movie’s shortcomings.
Renfield also attends self-help group meetings for people in toxic relationships, where he tries to describe his situation with Dracula as a boss who drains his life force. Although Renfield’s fellow meeting-goers can’t understand his literal description, they can all relate to living in the shadows of manipulative and violent people. Unfortunately, the film’s attempts at humor here can, at times, feel like they’re making light of abusive relationships.
INCONSISTENT WRITING AND CHARACTERIZATION
From moment one, the film’s writing doesn’t trust the audience to understand its most basic plot elements. Additionally, Renfield’s characterization often feels inconsistent and poorly developed. While Hoult tries to bring some awkward English charm to the character, he’s no Guillermo from What We Do in the Shadows, and the writing doesn’t give him much to work with.
Renfield also differentiates itself from other vampire stories by including a busy action-thriller plot involving traffic cop Rebecca and her drug-dealing nemeses. Still, this plotline feels tacked-on and doesn’t mesh well with the rest of the movie.
FINAL THOUGHTS
In conclusion, Renfield had the potential to be a funny and interesting take on Dracula’s story, with an impressive cast and exciting action sequences. Unfortunately, the movie’s writing lets it down, and the great performances from Cage and Hoult aren’t enough to make up for its shortcomings. Ultimately, Renfield is a mess that fails to fully realize its characters’ potential.
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