Renfield

The Public Domain. It lets anyone use a character from long ago in a new story. But it also inspires everyone to use that same character in a new story. At the same time, even.

Take Dracula, for example. Robert Eggers is currently filming a new remake of The Count's movie debut, Nosferatu, for Focus Features. Universal - the parent company of Focus Features - is set to release The Last Voyage of Demeter, based on a portion of Bram Stoker's novel, this August. The Count and his unwitting sidekick, Renfield, headline another Universal release this month. Let's see how it is.

It's been 90 years since Count Dracula (Nicolas Cage) ensnared solicitor RM Renfield (Nicholas Hoult) in a master-familiar relationship. Renfield brings the Count victims and protects him from vampire hunters. The Count treats him like nothing in return. Their exploits take them to New Orleans, where Renfield joins a self-help group for people in abusive relationships. Their stories give him new victims for Dracula. But he soon has enough of being mistreated by the master he faithfully served.

Renfield is soon caught up in the life of traffic cop Rebecca Quincy (Awkwafina). The Lobo crime family killed Rebecca's officer dad and she wants vengeance. The rest of the force is in the pocket of matriarch Bellafrancesca Lobo (Shohreh Aghdashloo) and her idiotic son Teddy (Ben Schwartz). Renfield comes to Rebecca's rescue when Teddy and his thugs try to kill her. The experience finally inspires Renfield to divorce himself from Dracula. But Dracula doesn't take rejection well and will take it out on anyone Renfield cares for. It's up to Renfield and Rebecca to stake the Count for good.

What can I say about it? To start, it's got some great deadpan humor and running gags. It also has violence that the cast of Mortal Kombat would envy. You'll get plenty of it when Renfield goes to town on the Lobos and their collaborators. What makes the film truly scary is Dracula's dominance over Renfield. Anyone who's been in an abusive relationship - or witnessed one - will squirm when Dracula pulls the "I'm the real victim" card. Him following through with his threats adds to the urgency of Renfield's plight. Overall, it's a good horror comedy. I'll elaborate further below.

We feel for Renfield once we learn of the life he left behind for the ungrateful Count. That makes it all the more endearing to see him fit in with the mortals. It helps that the support group, including its leader, Mark (Brandon Scott Jones), are likable people who gladly help him redo his persona. Rebecca's subplot is compelling, though others have disagreed. She and Renfield are quite likable together. Her falling out with Renfield is quite understandable given the circumstances. It's great to see them take down Dracula in the end. How they do it is another hilarious highlight.

And now for the villains. Dracula is scary for reasons I mentioned above. But Cage goes all in as the Prince of Darkness and that makes him just as funny. Teddy is an idiot whose greatest strength is family money. But he's quite dangerous when he needs to be and even more so when he joins Dracula. It's a peculiar but effective combination. Aghdashloo is charismatic as Bellafrancesca. Rebecca's partner, Chris (Adrian Martinez) gets his best scene when he and the force reveal themselves in the Lobos' pocket. The one-scene wonder is Joe (Marcus Lewis), a Lobo hitman who runs into Renfield.

Director Chris McKay assembles a perfect technical crew here. The prologue has Hoult and Cage inserted into 1931's Dracula; I could tell with Cage, but I thought it was original Renfield Dwight Frye I was looking at. Hoult really nailed Frye's maddened expression here. The other visual effects are just as impressive (Dracula levitating is a highlight). The makeup team deserve a spot on the Oscar shortlist for taking Dracula from decayed husk to elegant ghoul. Costume Designer Lisa Lovaas dresses him and Renfield in an equally elegant wardrobe. Production Designer Alec Hammond conjures up a variety of memorable locales which include Renfield's modern apartment, Dracula's hospital lair and the Lobos' mansion. And finally, Marco Beltrami's intense score is just as spectacular as Wojciech Killar and John Williams's work in Dracula's 1992 and 1979 films. 

Renfield is an interesting take on the long-adapted novel. You'd be surprised how compelling Dracula's traditional lackey is in his own movie. Its 93 minutes will go by quickly as you watch him deal with modern life. Its villains are surprisingly memorable, though Dracula himself is the most memorable. See it soon to see what I mean. As for me, I'm all the more interested in checking out Demeter once it's out. And maybe Nosferatu.