Halloween is in the air. Guess it should be anyway. It’s almost October. 

Seems like the appropriate time of year to run into a Nicolas Cage film where he is playing an icon of the horror genre, the O.G. of the vampire set, the undefeated sultan of suck. You got it: Dracula. 

We know that Cage has a thing for Nosferatu and he channels his best Bela Lugosi and Christopher Lee in this one, but as with most things, he takes it in a slightly different direction.

This film Renfield (2023) has been on my radar for a while now because as I was starting my WATC(H) party, this film had come out, so almost everyone I know was asking me, “Have you seen Renfield yet?” (No, I’d tell them, don’t you know my rules?)

So I think because I’ve had a lot of time to think about it, I assumed this film was going to be something along the lines of What We Do in the Shadows, a slower moving deadpan comedy horror shot documentary style in the “vein” of The Office or, again, What We Do in The Shadows.

It wasn’t that.

And, contrary to my other assumption, it wasn’t really about Dracula at all (as the title clearly points). It was all about Renfield–Dracula’s familiar and the bane of his co-dependent existence.

But we’re getting into it before we’re getting into to, so….

The World According to Dracula (but really Renfield)

This film (which is much more akin to Shaun of the Dead in its violent, gory action, than it is What We Do in the Shadows) is a modern take on Count Dracula’s familiar, Robert Montague Renfield, who does the bidding of (and gains some benefits from) the legendary vampire from Bram Stoker’s novel.

Our Renfield (Nicholas Hoult) after over a hundred of years of service, seems to be tiring of the job of keeping Count Dracula (Nicolas Cage) fed and cared for–a cycle which usually ends with Dracula’s near-demise, resurrection, and revitalization in a new city. 

In this case Renfield is living in modern day New Orleans (warning: Nick Cage’s New Orleans films usually suck) and is trying to bring the Count back to prominence by providing him with victims (sustenance) and a safe environment to heal in (an abandoned hospital). Refield has discovered a co-dependency support group and is starting to realize that he is in a pretty toxic relationship with his master (duh).

Through his first person “dear diary” like accounts Renfield explains to the group (and us, as the audience) what it’s like having to be a “familiar” or caretaker of a ragingly powerful narcissist like Dracula. 

Renfield has had to give up family, friends, and his own ambitions for the long life of servitude to the king of the undead. He’s had to dull his own conscience and lead people to their literal doom. What does he get out of it? Not a lot–he’s discovering. A long life, and if he eats bugs “for their power” he gains superhuman strength for a brief period of time. As his support group reminds him, Renfield needs to take his power back and set some boundaries with the Lord of Darkness. 

Other than the comedic villainy of Nicolas Cage’s version of Dracula, the film also has a “comic book” quality to it. Co-written by Robert Kirkman of Walking Dead comic fame, Renfield plays out like a gory version of the Michael Keaton Batman films or a slightly tamer version of The Boys. 

While trying to find morally questionable victims (street thugs and drug dealers) for Dracula’s resurgence, Renfield ends up crossing paths with and having to fight off a violent gang who have infiltrated and basically taken power over the city of New Orleans. The family that leads this crime syndicate (and the corrupt police force they control) is the Lobos, lead by the ruthless matriarch Bellafrancesca Lobo (Shohreh Aghdashloo) and her goofy, hubristic son Tedward “Teddy” Lobo (Ben Schwartz). 

As the Lobos try to locate Renfield and pay him back for killing their men and disrupting their “business ventures” in New Orleans, the only good cop in the city Rebecca (Awkwafina) is trying her best to take them down for their crimes, and bring them to justice for killing her policeman father. With these various supernatural and criminal worlds colliding all around them, Renfield ends up saving Rebecca’s life from Teddy and the Lobos. Thanks to the advice of his support group (who don’t really understand the scope or nature of his dependency), he also begins to create new personal boundaries between himself and Dracula. 

Confronting a narcissist is never going to go well, and it doesn’t go well for Renfield either. Count Dracula hurt by the perceived rejection of his familiar finds the source of Renfield’s change (his support group) and mercilessly kills them all in front of him to teach him a lesson.

Dracula also teams up with the Lobos since they are more compliant and collaborative with his new goal of world domination–which Renfield has decided to stand against. Dracula creates an army of super-powered familiars including Teddy, and baits Renfield for a final battle by kidnapping Rebecca’s sister (with the help of the Lobos.) 

Rebecca and Renfield must take on most of the corrupt New Orleans police force, the vampire-powered Lobos, and Dracula himself in order to save the people they love. There’s a lot of bloody combat in this film and (spoiler alert) in the end Rebecca helps Renfield trap Dracula in a “protection circle” where they can easily chop him to pieces and pour him into concrete chunks.

But not before draining him of a gallon of his “healing” blood which allows them to restore Renfield (who died in the battle) as well as the entire support group who had been murdered at Dracula’s hand. 

Fun was, perhaps, not had by all, but the comedy kept the film going and made it easy to root for Renfield and boo / hiss at Dracula. 

Surprisingly…good, being bad

Over the course of the WATC(H) I’ve come to dread the New Orleans set films. Except for Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, in which Nicolas Cage also plays a villain(ish) but a compelling one, the rest of his New Orleans oeuvre are just a pile of hot garbage mostly (Zandalee, Sonny, Stolen to name a few.) 

This film provided entertainment value in droves because it was unexpected. While the film was not BASED on a comic book, it was written by a comic book writer and the overall look and feel has this over-the-top heavily stylized approach that I liked quite a bit. The comedic gore and heavy action elements was so over the top as well that it did feel a bit like something Simon Pegg should have also starred or cameoed in.

The film really is about toxic codependency and finding your way out of those types of relationships, so setting many of the main scenes in Renfield’s support group (DRAAG, ha! stands Dependent Relationship Anonymous Addiction Group) really amped up both the empathy you have for him and the humor. 

I enjoyed the film the first time I saw it because it was surprising to me. The second watch I actually appreciated what they were doing with it and how they built the story. Dracula, as good as he is played by Cage here, is actually a supporting actor. It’s all about Renfield (and a little bit about Rebecca) and the journey of self-realization that he must take and survive.

Creepy Cage

In an interview, Cage discussed how he really tried to model his performance on Nosferatu and Christopher Lee, but the way they shot the scenes and dressed him, he definitely looks more like Bela Lugosi for sure. As Dracula must resurrect and revitalize himself after each “near-death” experience, he looks really gross and oozy. The first few scenes, where he is moving Voldermort-like from barely fleshed to fully vamped, I can barely stand to look at his rotting, congealing skin. 

It’s pretty gnarly, but as he drains blood and reforms himself, he begins to shape the common, iconic vampire look. 

From an emotive, acting standpoint, he’s also pretty fearsome. At times you can kind of see how he will build upon his work here as Dracula in one of his last (and creepiest) films to date (Longlegs). Dracula is a total narcissist, as Renfield discovers, and gaslights and domineers over everyone he encounters. Played in this way, you begin to see Dracula as the monster that he is–and less as the somewhat pitiable but oft-misunderstood creature(s) we sometimes see in films like Interview With The Vampire.

Cage really owns this role and although there is that tinge of humor and irony to him, he does a great job of creeping you out as the audience and also pushing you firmly across the line to Team Renfield. 

A Few Other Notes of Note

• There’s a few funny discussions on the value / importance of ska music
• The disparate interplay between what Renfield is sharing with his support group and what they are sharing about provides the backbone of the humor here. For example, when Renfield chokes and says, “I swallowed a bug…unintentionally..” one of the other support groups members is confused and asks aloud, “what other way is…[there]?” 
• Another one that is funny is that when the support group is questioning Renfield’s relationship with his codependent partner, they ask him what would happen if he stands up to him. He says, “he won’t grow to his fully power” which the group leader thinks is a funny way to put it, but then turns it around and tells Renfield that “he can grow to full power” instead. Hilarious.
• Rebecca’s frustration is not codependency, but that she can’t depend on anyone else in the police force to help her. She wants to do her job but everyone is on the Lobos corrupt payroll. There’s a huge “missing persons” report wall in the precinct with this sign over it: DON’T SERVE CRIME UNTIL OVER TIME. There are literally hundreds of people on this board (presumably missing because of the Lobos crime syndicate and Dracula’s appetites for blood). The irony is hilarious.
• Everyone hates Kyle (one of the junior policeman on the force.) Funny joke is the line, “Fuck you, Kyle!” which always seems harsher than his actions deserve, but it gets three different times.
• “I don’t want your murder cookies.” Rebecca’s line when she realizes that Renfield is responsible for various murders throughout the city.
• Dracula’s teeth are razor sharp. Not just the incisors BUT ALL OF THEM. That alone makes him pretty creepy to look at. Plus, he is able to grow his incisors as long as necessary at will (which he does right through Renfield’s hands ‘ouch’!) 
• There was a whole dance number deleted scene where Renfield sings and dances down the street. I watched it on the DVD extras and it was entertaining. Wonder why they axed it?

First for Nicolas Cage as Count Dracula

• Having really sharp teeth (as opposed to fake teeth Vampire’s Kiss)
• Ripping a guy’s throat out (and many other people’s throats out) 
• Turning into a smoke monster and exploding a person from the inside out
• Creating a plan for world domination (with associated dream board)
• Transforming himself into a cauldron of bats
• Wrecking a support group
• Wearing a red velvet suit
• Giving a shout-out to Satan (this one will come back around)

Recurrences

• Looking like his face melted off in a microwave / deep fryer (Deadfall)
• Killing a holy man (Season of the Witch)
• Appearing as a vampire, of sorts (Vampire’s Kiss)
• Getting burned up in fire (The Wicker Man, Between Worlds)
• Film set in New Orleans (Multiple)
• Trapped using a magical spell (The Sorcerer’s Apprentice)

Quotables

“I am your only salvation.”

“I am your only friend.”

“I am the only one who cares for you.”

“DOUG IS TRASH! YOU’RE FEEDING ME TRASH!” 

“I don’t ask for much, Renfield. Just the blood of a few dozen innocent people.” 

“You know it’s not their gender I’m concerned with.” 

“My needs are the only thing that matters.” 

“A God, Renfield. Immortal. Insatiable. Woo! All-Powerful being.” 

“I am Count Dracula.”

“Tell me all about your problems!” 

“I’m the REAL VICTIM HERE!” 

“You’re the MONSTER, Renfield. Not me.” 

“I will reduce this…studio apartment…until it is ash.” 

“Some call me the Dark One. Others, the Lord of Death.” 

“LET’S EAT!” 

“When I’m finished, the entire human race, everything you care about, will suffer because you betrayed me.” 

“I have found some people who will unleash my potential as well.” 

“We did have a complicated relationship.” 

“Congratulations. You shot my foot.” 

“There are far more Renfields in this world then Rebeccas.” 

“I am the dark poetry in the hearts of all mankind.” 

“I wish to spend a season in hell. Where all the amusing people are. Hail Satan.” 

Conclusion

At it’s heart, Renfield is a film about empathy, self acceptance, and growth of conscience. In some ways, it’s pretty reminiscent of another favorite series of mine, Dexter. Hoult is learning what it means to be a human (again). He does an excellent job of narrating the life of a familiar who is living in the oppressive shadow of a monster.

Renfield may be a different sort of character from Guillermo in What We Do In The Shadows (TV series) but the two are not completely dissimilar.

Both draw out our empathy, our laughter, and our hope; we want them to do better and to want better because we know that for them, staying with their toxic vampires is ultimately not in their best interest. We want them to grow to their full power.