Title: Renfield
Describe This Movie In One Love At First Bite Quote:
COUNT DRACULA: Children of the night, shut up!
Brief Plot Synopsis: Disgruntled worker has the original boss from hell.
Rating Using Random Objects Relevant To The Film: 3.5 Specials albums out of 5.
Tagline: “Sucks to be him.”
Better Tagline: “Bring me the head of Miranda Priestly.”
Not So Brief Plot Synopsis: Robert Montague Renfield (Nicholas Hoult) has spent the hundred years and change as manservant/whipping boy/”procurement specialist” for the one and only Count Dracula (Nicolas Cage). Lately, however, he’s been having misgivings, and has even gone so far as to join a support group. But it isn’t until he uses his Dracula-given powers to save New Orleans Police officer Rebecca Quincy (Awkwafina) from a drug dealer’s hit squad that he sees the possibility of getting out once and for all.
“Critical” Analysis: There have been over 100 movies made about Bram Stoker’s Dracula (one of those being … Bram Stoker’s Dracula) since 1921’s Drakula halála. Or maybe it was Murnau’s Nosferatu (1922). In any event, the Count has had a century’s worth of play in cinemas. And even supporting characters like Mina Harker and Abraham Van Helsing have enjoyed big screen representation, though you can hardly be blamed for missing either League of Extraordinary Gentlemen or Van Helsing.
But what about Dracula’s familiar, R.M. Renfield? That “zoophagous maniac,” as Dr. Seward described him, was instrumental in Dracula’s plan to ensnare Mrs. Harker, However, Renfield — directed by Chris “The Tomorrow War” McKay and written by Ryan Ridley (based on a story by The Walking Dead’s Robert Kirkman) — is the first movie to give us a more intimate portrait of the Count’s formerly faithful servant.
We start with a nice bit where McKay inserts Cage and Hoult into scenes from Tod Browning’s 1931 classic Dracula. Here, Hoult is clearly having a good time channeling Dwight Frye’s descent into madness, so it’s a drag that this is the only opportunity Hoult gets to ham it up.
For the most of the movie, Renfield is a mopey fellow. You can imagine his 20th century playlists stretching from Billie Holiday to Hank Williams to the Velvet Underground to Joy Division to … you get the idea.
Tasked with obtaining victims for his boss, Renfield hits upon the idea of only bringing bad guys for Dracula to feed on (an undead spin in Dexter, if you will). Problem is, the Master reaches full power faster when his victims are “pure.” It’s a concept that’s been around since 1991’s Batman & Dracula: Red Rain, and complicates Renfield’s plans. Does he pursue only assumedly innocent prey (nuns, Doctors Without Borders, Subaru drivers), or known fiends (priests, tech billionaires, BMW drivers)?
If you’re thinking Renfield sounds similar in atmosphere to What We Do In the Shadows, you’re not entirely wrong. The latter is more of a pure comedy, while the former is just as dependent on (mostly) action and (some) horror elements, but with a fair amount of laughs. Some of the fight scenes (Renfield eats bugs for a brief surge of vampire power) are truly inspired, with excellent gore F/X (this is the second movie involving Cage and a face off).
Cage kills (literally and metaphorically) as the apex gaslighting boss, while Hoult is charmingly morose. Shohreh Aghdashloo is having a blast as the local crime boss, which probably comes as a relief after playing it mostly straight on The Expanse.
And yet: Renfield and Quincy’s final plan is, to put it mildly, dumb as hell, and the ending goes against pretty much everything we know about Dracula. As Renfield’s ally/potential love interest, Awkwafina is just okay. Her style is better suited for smaller dose roles in movies like Crazy Rich Asians and Ocean’s 8.
As a vampire movie for the therapy generation, Reinfeld hits the requisite beats. It’s recommended for Cage’s batshit (heh) crazy interpretation of the Count and creative bloodshed, which we’ll need more than ever as long as they keep adapting those sad bastard Anne Rice vamps.
Renfield is in theaters today.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2023.
