Renfield has been considered notable for one reason only. It's the film that finally put Nicolas Cage in the role of Dracula. Though he steals the show in almost every scene, the film delivers devilish fun in its gory action set pieces and charming story. Renfield, both the movie and the man, are sick of playing second fiddle to Dracula, and Nicholas Hoult brings that angst to life.
Robert Kirkman, the author behind Invincible and The Walking Dead, provided the stellar elevator pitch for this film after the hilarious downfall of the Dark Universe. Ryan Ridley turned in the final script after writing 10 episodes of Rick and Morty and one episode of Invincible. The Tomorrow War director Chris McKay stepped in to direct in 2021.
R. M. Renfield was introduced by Bram Stoker in his classic 1897 novel Dracula. He's far from the most important character in the story. His name is synonymous with the image of a slavishly devoted minion and his presence is often left out of adaptations of the story. However, Renfield imagines its title character still serving the Prince of Wallachia in the modern day. Their relationship has followed a vicious cycle. Dracula comes very close to attaining godlike power, incites the wrath of some monster hunters, barely survives their attacks, and is forced to start over. This time, Renfield has set up his dark lord in an abandoned hospital in New Orleans. Everything changes when Renfield discovers a support group for people in codependent relationships.
Though he's lived decades under Dracula's thumb, Renfield has started to come down with the idea that he could become his own man. The vampire demands sacrifices, preferably of the pure and innocent, but Renfield has begun to see himself as a defender of the weak. His support group leads him to victims in the form of their abusive partners, but he's under constant pressure from the man in the coffin. When Renfield runs afoul of the most powerful local organized crime family, he's brought into close contact with the only decent cop in the city. R. M. sets to turning his life around as Dracula launches a new plan to take over the world. Forced to reckon with his past, Renfield will have to learn to stand up against his boss and claim his power back before all of humanity suffers his fate.
Yes, Nicolas Cage is as great as expected in the role of Dracula. He's a compelling villain, a note-perfect abusive mentor figure, and a believable Lucifer figure. Cage doesn't quite reach Vampire's Kiss levels of massive scenery-chewing absurdity, but he makes some appropriately wild choices. Nicholas Hoult finally finds the perfect leading role in Renfield. He's an unsung hero of almost every project he's in, a treasure in smaller character roles, and a unique presence in the lead. Hoult appears opposite Awkwafina, who manages to make the most of a fairly generic cop character. Ben Schwartz has a ton of fun as a mob boss's son, constantly swinging between cocky swaggering and desperate begging in a way that makes both hilarious. Special commendations should also go to Brandon Scott Jones as the support group leader, who manages to nail the lingo in a way that feels sincere and silly. The cast may be the film's strongest asset, and it's certainly its biggest selling point.
The action in Renfield comes across like a street-level superhero project. R. M. has exactly enough super strength to turn every other move into a full-on Mortal Kombat Fatality with some excellent results. There are a lot of practical gore effects that look spectacular in the most perfectly goofy ways and a lot of CGI effects that are far less impressive. The film pulls off plenty of fun gags with Dracula's unique list of superpowers and weaknesses, as well as a decent built-in limitation with Renfield's hunger for bugs.
The jokes and the action work in most scenes, but there is some weird choppy editing that can be distracting. That problem also manifests in the form of a lot of weird ADR that seems wildly out of place in dialogue. In addition, cinematographer Mitchell Amundsen seems to be caught between styles. Some scenes enjoy a smooth flowing camera that looks great while others are jittery and disjointed. Some viewers might not notice this kind of thing, but it keeps some of the best moments from standing out against other action classics.
Renfield will appeal to a niche crowd. It feels like a movie Sam Raimi might have made thirty years ago. The Mummy tried to turn a Universal Monster movie into a superhero movie and fell flat, but Renfield seems to have a strong enough understanding of both genres to pull it off. Though it isn't very scary, the Halloween-ready spooky vibe will be satisfying enough for the goth and goth-adjacent. At its heart, Renfield is a charming comedy about a character finally getting the spotlight. R. M. Renfield earns his day in the sun, even if he has Dracula to thank for a lot of it.
Renfield