Renfield

In his over 40 year career, Nicolas Cage has played very memorable characters, but one you wouldn't have expected from him is Dracula opposite Nicholas Hoult as the title character in Renfield. Somewhat of a sequel to the 1931 Dracula, this sees the two surviving into the present day as they take on vampire hunters. Staying in New Orleans, Renfield starts to realize that his relationship with his master is very abusive and tries to get out of his clutches. However that won't be easy due to Dracula needing him as well as a crime family whose business Renfield gets entangled with. With the help of a traffic cop, Rebecca, whose father was killed by the mob, they have to contend with the combined forces of their opposing enemies. The best part about this movie is the cast, with Cage fitting so perfectly as the legendary vampire, Hoult playing someone so helpless with so much sincerity that you feel and believe his attempt to get out of an abusive relationship, Awkwafina doing well with drama and comedy as Rebecca, and Shohreh Aghdashloo managing to be just as menacing as Cage. Ben Schwartz also appears as part of the mob family and both gives a fun performance, but also doesn't entirely fit due to how over the top he is and how he looks. With the story being thought up by Robert Kirkman, you do see it fit his usual work, and while Ryan Ridley does craft the script rather well with a unique take on the classic monster and his servant, having some really good jokes, and tying well together the recovery program themes, the story often meanders a bit. It's fun at first going from fun over the top vampire story to emotional support groups dealing with abuse and then dramatic police procedural, but after a while they don't blend as well as they hoped, similar in a way to what one expects from a Max Landis script. Chris McKay does prove he can craft these many different aspects together, however, thanks to over the top action scenes, huge amounts of bloody carnage mapping up the camp and gore, impressive use of makeup, and fun tone. Whether or not we'll get to see this cast reprise their roles in the future or not, Renfield, despite huge flaws in its writing, still did an incredible job owing much to the actors involved. Over all: 82%

2023 top list so far:

1. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

2. Creed III

3. John Wick: Chapter 4

4. Scream VI

5. M3GAN

6. Cocaine Bear

7. Knock at the Cabin

8. The Super Mario Bros. Movie

9. Renfield

10. Shazam! Fury of the Gods

11. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania