By Melanie Mayberry, programming editor
Peacock on Friday (June 9) will add Renfield, the comedy/horror film starring Nicolas Cage as Count Dracula in modern day New Orleans with Nicholas Hoult as his put-upon assistant. The very concept of Cage as the famous vampire makes me laugh instantly, but is Renfield the movie any good? Rotten Tomatoes, which tracks critical reviews, currently gives the film a score of 57 out of a possible 100, based on 268 reviews. (The audience score of 79 is a bit better.) Here is a sampling of the critical reviews, and a movie trailer. Enjoy.
“The main attraction is Nicolas Cage’s barnstorming performance as Dracula, played mainly for laughs yet indicating careful study of his many predecessors in the role.” – The Age (Australia).
“The core idea of the fractured relationship between a narcissistic monster and his abused assistant is ripe for a neo-psychobabble satire with an earnest streak, but it’s frustratingly underdeveloped.” — Decider.
“As the newly self-actualized Renfield would say, it is enough, and it has enough, at least for horror comedy fans looking for some light laughs and even lighter scares.” — Winnipeg Free Press.
“(The) goal with this movie is to give the source material a new look, but he doesn’t have the tools to carry out a proper makeover. This is a re(vamp)ing that could have used a little more coherence.” – LA Weekly.
“The things that work about Renfield are outweighed by those that don’t, and it’s a shame because it’s not hard to imagine a version of the film that could have been much better with a bit of massaging and a better grip on what makes these characters tick.” — The Verge.
“If you’ve watched the film’s enticing trailer, you’ve already heard almost all the best lines and seen a tauter, more engaging version of Renfield than the sloppy mess it turns out to be.” — BBC.com
“Renfield is sort of like what would happen if Stoker went through a big TikTok psychology video binge as a means of procrastination while writing Dracula.” — Looper.com.
“The knowing, meta-exploration of Dracula lore is often quite clever. And “Renfield” can be extremely entertaining in sporadic bursts.” — RogerEbert.com.
To read more reviews of Renfield at Rotten Tomatoes.com, click here.
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