I’m pretty sure the pitch for Renfield got no farther than “Nic Cage is playing Dracula.” If it were just that, the movie would be passable but forgettable entertainment with Cage turned into more memes of himself. Instead, to the delight of audiences everywhere, everyone involved in Renfield seems to actually care about what they are doing, elevating those Cage mems into a real legit film that walks that horror comedy line better than probably most people thought.
Even though Nicholas Cage is Dracula, as you can tell by the title, he’s a supporting player here to his familiar Renfield (Nicholas Hoult). A familiar helps the powerful beings of the world do their evildoings, an emotional burden Renfield can no longer contain to himself, so he attends a support group for people in toxic relationships. This support group gives Renfield some self-esteem, allowing him to stand up for himself. This puts him and Dracula in the crosshairs of New Orleans underworld, like mob boss Bellafrancesca (Shohreh Aghdashloo) and her wimpy son Teddy (Ben Schwartz). And when you come into contact with crime, policemen like Rebecca Quincy (Awkwafina) won’t be too far behind either.
In a world of endless IP rebooting, a fresh idea like Renfield goes a long way. I remember watching the 1931 Dracula and thinking to myself, “I wonder what the relationship is like between Renfield and Dracula?” I don’t have to imagine anymore, because it’s right here. As people become more understanding about relationships today, the Renfield/Dracula one fits a toxic, abusive relationship perfectly, as the Prince of Darkness emotionally manipulates his meeker familiar into doing things that make him miserable in service of “love.” A Dracula movie about self-help? You can practically see all the humor mined during Renfield’s support confessions as the leader Brandon Scott Jones misinterprets figurative statements for things that are very literal. But the biggest modernization move Renfield makes is using violence to cartoonishly over the top levels. When things start to go bad, bodies get torn to shreds, blood and entrails get spilled and restitched and spilled over and over again. The violence is so insane Renfield feels ridiculously unrealistic, keeping the tone light making you forget that a bunch of people just got horribly tortured and maimed for the satisfaction of a vampire.
Obviously studio execs were giddy at putting Nic Cage in 1930’s Nosferatu wear and letting the guy cook. Cage gets the assignment, and fits himself nicely into the ensemble, going for it when the story allows and playing it cool the rest of the time. In fact, everyone’s commitment to Renfield’s bit is pretty impressive, considering how silly it is. Awkwafina takes the “hero cop” thankless role and puts her humorous stamp on it, making it better than it has any right to be. Ben Schwartz is playing Jean-Ralphio as a mob boss to the delight of Parks and Rec fans everywhere, a 2023 Renfield wanna be. Shohreh Aghdashloo provides the necessary gravitas to the story when there needs to be some (even though she’s woefully underused), and Brandon Scott Jones is great as the overly enthusiastic but oblivious support group leader. And then there’s the other Nicholas, Nicholas Hoult. Hoult makes every movie he’s in better. Here he plays the point guard, adopting whatever persona Renfield needs to make the scenes work with whatever supporting player he’s letting take center stage. At times he’s asked to play vulnerable, confused, lame, nervous, badass, and charming with his various scene partners, and he fits well into all of them, a testament to his flexibility as an actor.
Just try right? It’s easy to take the Disney route, and just retell the same stories over and over again to condescendingly cash grab the audience. At least Renfield’s creative team put some thought into this one, and gave us something fun and frothy for 90 minutes. I also like the idea of Nic Cage reimagining famous movie characters of the past, since he’s proved with Bad Lieutenant and this one he’s more than happy to give it the good ol college try. So look out, Vito Corleone, Quint from Jaws, and Joker: Nic Cage is coming for you sooner or later.