Renfield (2023) Review

 "Obviously we're dealing with a little bit more than just narcissism here."

-Mark

Renfield (Nicholas Hoult) has been stuck serving Count Dracula (Nicolas Cage) for decades.  An encounter with a brave cop (Awkwafina) encourages Renfield to seek help and end his relationship with Dracula.  The vampire doesn't appreciate that and becomes determined to destroy everyone Renfield cares about.

What Works:

I love how the movie begins.  We get recreations of shots from the 1931 Dracula with Hoult and Cage in black-and-white footage.  It's really cool and makes this movie really feel like a sequel to a movie that's over 90 years old.  

I'm a huge Nicolas Cage fan and he's probably the actor that I get most excited to see on screen.  When I heard he was playing Dracula, I was beyond excited and Cage absolutely delivers.  He hams it up the way only Cage can.  He's wonderfully evil and it's an absolute joy whenever he is on screen.

The other actors do a great job as well.  Nicholas Hoult is awesome as Renfield, who is the best character in Dracula.  He's a very interesting character here and I love his gray morality.  I've always enjoyed Awkwafina and she continues to be hilarious, as well as surprisingly badass.  And I didn't know Ben Schwartz was in the movie, but he gets to play a total douche-nozzle, which is when he's at his best.

The gore is incredibly over-the-top and a ton of fun.  If a movie has good gore and still manages to be fun, you've pretty much won me over.  The kills are fantastic throughout the movie, especially in the apartment fight.  I almost caught myself cheering in the theater and I never do that.  This is what I call a beer movie.  Watch it with some friends who appreciate over-the-top, dumb bullshit like this and have a blast.

Finally, I love the makeup on the healing Dracula.  He looks gross and gnarly, but really cool.  It looks great, as does Dracula's lair.  I just love the creepy production design.  It's the style I always want more of in horror and I dig it.

What Sucks:

Awkwafina's side of the story doesn't always work.  She's great when she gets mixed up with Renfield and Dracula, but there's also a whole subplot about corrupt cops preventing her from going after a crime family.  It's sloppy and stupid.  Parts of it I simply didn't buy.  It doesn't really add anything to the film and it absolutely could have been handled better.

Verdict:

I loved Renfield.  It's definitely not a movie for everybody, but for those of us in the target audience, it delivers.  Cage, Hoult, Awkafina, and Schwartz are all a lot of fun, I love the Dracula recreations and the look of the character and his lair, and the gore and action are exactly what I wanted to see.  The police subplot is dumb, but this movie has absolutely got it going on if you're a dumb bullshit enthusiast like myself.

 9/10: Great