On Feb. 5th, Dracula: A Love Tale will be released to U.S. audiences. Before planning a movie date to watch this gothic literature retelling on the big screen, consider this your non-spoiler guide to the movie.
‘I’m only haunted by the memory of my wife, my one and only love’ – Dracula: A Love Tale (Luc Besson, 2026)
This iteration of Dracula takes place during the 19th century, telling the story of a recluse Dracula finding the reincarnated soul of his beloved who was murdered centuries before. As someone who isn’t a fan of romance and instead of gothic literature, I was afraid that this retelling of Bram Stoker’s Dracula would be overly romantic or flashy, but to my surprise, it wasn’t.
For fans of Robert Eggers’s Nosferatu (2024), 2026’s Dracula: A Love Tale adheres to a similar structure. In this regard, I feel it necessary to mention that Egger’s Nosferatu and this new interpretation of Dracula are both drawing inspiration from Stoker’s original work. Luc Bensson’s Dracula: A Love Tale definitely takes on a more romantic approach than the plague infested Nosferatu, but it adheres to history in a similar fashion.
Besson uses the time period to enhance his story, filling it with genuine stakes for our protagonists. Whereas Nosferatu is presented as a myth within his film, vampires as a whole fulfil this role in 2026’s Dracula movie. Bensson enlisted the talents of Christoph Waltz, known for his work in the James Bond movies, to portray a pious man hunting down vampires for years and finally come in contact with one. Our story actually picks up from this point unlike its 2024 predecessor where we remain shrouded in mystery about vampires until the mid-way point.
The movie very quickly lays out the familiar ground rules for vampires from classic literature that are slowly phasing back into media such as Sinners (2025). The inclusion of these rules and an outsider with knowledge of vampires quickly launches us into the story and the conflict with which we’ll be presented. I’ve acknowledged what enthused my history buff self, but what about the romance and the characters? Well, for my hopeless romantics, I can confidently say this movie will fulfil that itch.
Our French counterparts who got the privilege of viewing Dracula: A Love Tale earlier have so kindly flooded my ‘for you page,’ and I’m sure others,’ with various edits before any of us have even viewed the movie. The very line that started my desire to watch this movie came from TikTok. The movie tells the tale of ageless love that spans centuries as Dracula searches for his Elisabeta. Dracula goes to countless lengths to reconnect with the reincarnated soul of his lover. This isn’t a movie where he doesn’t succeed. Instead, Dracula finds his love and deals with those who wish to harm them. Overall, I found the film to be a 10/10 with something for everyone. I hope you grab a popcorn bucket and head to the theaters.
