Renfield review

RENFIELD: 

NICOLAS CAGE SHINES (OR RATHER BITES) IN UNAPOLOGETICALLY SILLY VAMPIRE FLICK! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

UNIVERSAL PICTURES

Nicolas Cage as Count Dracula in Renfield

 

            Nicolas Cage (Face/Off, Adaptation, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent) goes from deranged lunatic who thinks he’s a vampire to an actual bloodthirsty creature of the night in Renfield, the new horror-comedy film from Chris McKay (Robot Chicken, The Lego Batman Movie, The Tomorrow War). This wouldn’t be the first time Nick Cage transformed into a vampire (or at least thought he did) as he had already starred in the 1989 horror-comedy film Vampire’s Kiss where he supposedly gets bitten by a vampire femme-fatale and goes on a psychotic rampage throughout the city as he is (supposedly) turning into a vampire, it’s also the movie that inspired most of those Nicolas Cage memes online. 

            I love Nicolas Cage as an actor and he’s one of those stars who always leaves a lasting impression even when the film itself isn’t all that great. Whether it’s a gem like Face/Off or a turd like The Wicker Man or when he’s in a supporting role like in Kick-Ass, I guarantee Cage will be one of, if not the most memorable and entertaining part of whichever film of his you’re watching. 

            There’s also been a recent resurgence of high-quality Nicolas Cage films with Pig and The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent being very well received and successful upon their releases. Which brings us to Renfield and literally all it took for me to be onboard with it was a teaser poster that read Nicolas Cage as Dracula. 

            I didn’t care whether or not the movie turned out great, the novelty of Nick Cage as Dracula alone was more than enough to get me in the theater…and yeah, he delivered! The movie itself…doesn’t quite have the bite that Cage’s performance has, though I don’t think the film is bad either. 

            It’s a serviceable, run-of-the-mill horror-comedy that’s incredibly silly in tone, but is elevated by Cage’s performance and the chemistry between its protagonists. 

            The film follows Renfield (Nicholas Hoult-X-Men franchise, Warm Bodies, Mad Max: Fury Road), the long-suffering servant of history’s most narcissistic boss, Count Dracula (Cage) who has been doing his master’s bidding for centuries. But when he’s finally had enough of Dracula’s servitude, Renfield goes on a spiritual journey to discover if there is a better life outside the shadow of his boss…while also trying his damnedest to end his codependency. 

            The film also stars Awkwafina (Crazy Rich Asians, The Farewell, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) as aggressive traffic cop Rebecca Quincy, Ben Schwartz (Parks and Recreation, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Sonic the Hedgehog 1 and 2) as mob enforcer Teddy Lobo, Shohreh Aghdashloo (House of Sand and Fog, X-Men 3: The Last Stand, Star Trek Beyond) as mob boss Bellafrancesca, Adrian Martinez (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Focus, Lady and the Tramp (2019)) as Quincy’s partner Chris, and Brandon Scott Jones (Ghosts, Can You Ever Forgive Me?, Isn’t It Romantic) as support group leader Mark. 

            Overall, Renfield may not be the perfect Nicolas Cage vampire film (nor the best vampire film in general), but I won’t lie and say I wasn’t super entertained by it. It doesn’t try to be anything deep or meaningful, it’s just a fun, cartoonishly bloody vampire movie that also happens to be an allegory on toxic relationships which is handled surprisingly well. 

            As silly as this movie is, you do find yourself getting attached to Renfield as a character and what his current predicament is. It’s made perfectly clear that Renfield’s relationship and working conditions with Dracula are very unhealthy and that he just needs to get the f*ck out, but how can you when you’re working for the Prince of Darkness? That’s the hidden brilliance of this film where it finds a way to seamlessly add topical subject matter into an otherwise cheesy movie. 

            The characters are also very likable and charismatic especially Nicholas Hoult as the titular character himself. Hoult as Renfield is an endearing protagonist and you believe the connection he has with Dracula (Shown brilliantly through flashbacks that resemble the classic Universal Dracula movie) despite his workplace relationship with his boss going sour. 

            Also, much like his performance as R in Warm Bodies, his role as Renfield allows Hoult to show off his comedic timing and he delivers some good laughs either through witty dialogue or banter between him and Awkwafina who is also quite funny in this. Ben Schwartz is having a ball chewing the scenery as this cartoonishly evil mob enforcer (and mama’s boy) who Awkwafina’s character is trying to catch. 

            No surprise here, but Nicolas Cage steals the show as Count Dracula in a depiction of the character that only he could do. He adds so much energy to every scene he’s in and constantly goes back and forth being funny, scary, and completely batsh*t insane often all at the same time. 

            On top of the usual Nick Cage tropes, the dynamic he has with Nicholas Hoult’s Renfield is very entertaining and the best aspect of the film. Also, there’s plenty of meme-worthy Nick Cage moments in this movie so Cage fans rejoice and have fun. 

            Where the first half focusing on Renfield and Dracula genuinely works, the narrative does get unfocused as the film goes on, specifically with the mob family. I understand that it’s in here to give Awkwafina’s character more of a reason to be here and in the climax they’re given the same powers as Renfield courtesy of Dracula, but it feels very out of place in the story and doesn’t relate to Renfield or Dracula at all until the third act. 

            Had the mob family aspect been taken out or at least better integrated into the story, I think we would have gotten a fantastic Renfield movie, but as is it somewhat bogs down the plot and feels like two completely different movies awkwardly stitched together. 

            Still despite its flaws, I had an enjoyable enough time with Renfield and a massive improvement over 2014’s Dracula Untold. I thought the lead characters were very likable, the action scenes are a lot of fun and creatively gory (Beating bad guys up with someone’s dismembered arms…Deadpool wishes he could do that!), Nicolas Cage’s delightfully bonkers turn as Dracula speaks for itself, and Renfield and Dracula’s workplace relationship viewed as an allegory for toxic relationships with narcissists is clever and adds more meat to this unapologetically silly vampire movie. 

            A far cry from the original Bela Lugosi Dracula or even the 1992 Francis Ford Coppola movie with Gary Oldman, but if you’re looking for a bloody good time with Renfield and Dracula or intrigued by the novelty of Nicolas Cage as the Count, I’d say check it out.