Renfield (M18)

93 minutes, opens on Thursday

2 stars

The story: Renfield (Nicholas Hoult) is a servant of Dracula (Nicolas Cage). It is a role that has earned him immortality and a smidgen of his master’s supernatural powers – as long as he keeps his boss supplied with bodies and anything else the vain, fickle bloodsucker desires. The pair move to New Orleans in search of a fresh start, but Renfield’s hunt is interrupted by feelings of dissatisfaction, coupled with emotions stirred by Rebecca (Awkwafina), a cop assigned to look into a spate of disappearances.

This chaotic assemblage of sounds and images begins with a great premise: Watching Dracula’s shenanigans from the point of view of his long-suffering lackey. Renfield is the manservant character from the 1897 book by Bram Stoker that started it all, Dracula.

In the novel, Renfield is deranged and pathetic. Here, as played by Hoult, he is Hugh Grant as a cute Goth kid – pale, floppy-haired and handsome, yet charmingly insecure and self-deprecating. It is clear that the creators want viewers to find him likeable and relatable.

Playing opposite him is the film’s villain, Dracula. If, like this reviewer, you believed that Cage was born to do a comedic take on the Count, note that his portrayal is unexpectedly restrained and sincere. This is all well and good, because it appears that honouring the scary side of the character is more important than mockery, something the hit comedy series What We Do In The Shadows (2019 to present) does very well.

At some point in the movie’s development, there might have been scenes that framed the relationship between the blood-drinker and his familiar as emotional vampirism, much like the disturbing Swedish horror hit Let The Right One In (2008) did, with great success.

But, other than having Renfield delve into his feelings in a 12-step meeting – tired movie trope alert – the central theme is quickly forgotten, replaced by too much plot and too many secondary characters, including the love interest played by the miscast Awkwafina. She has ditched her goofy ad-libs in favour of cranky observations about life, but her technique needs work.

Add to that the repetitive scenes of vampiric butchery that earn the film its M18 rating and you have a movie that sucks the fun out of the supernatural comedy genre.

Hot take: A series of unfortunate creative decisions in storytelling and casting has created a monster that ought not to have seen the light of day.