Renfield 2023 Movie Review
Director: Chris McKay
Cast: Nicholas Hoult, Awkwafina, Ben Schwartz, Adrian Martinez, Shohreh Aghdashloo, and Nicolas Cage
Cinematography: Mitchell Amundsen
Music: Marco Beltrami
Editor: Ryan Folsey, Giancarlo Ganziano, and Zene Baker
Synopsis:
Renfield, the tortured aide to his narcissistic boss, Dracula, is forced to procure his master’s prey and do his every bidding. However, after centuries of servitude, he’s ready to see if there’s a life outside the shadow of the Prince of Darkness.
Renfield 2023 Movie Review:
Nicholas Cage’s look as Dracula is what made me watch this film. I liked what he did with the character and I would say it will be
one of his memorable roles. He was funny at times, but he was serious in other moments and it worked every time.
I would have preferred if they would off made this a true horror movie with a much darker tone. With Cage’s look and ability to actually be terrifying this would have been a much better film.
Shohreh Aghdashloo has a unique voice and I liked her role. I wish there was more of her and less of Ben Schwartz. I understand this is a comedy but Ben’s character was just silly.
He played the typical spoiled son who was too weak to run the family business but it didn’t work here. Awkwafina and Nicholas Hoult were just okay, they didn’t ruin the movie but I didn’t really feel their impact.
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The movie had plenty of action even if the gore wasn’t the best looking. I didn’t mind that too much because it did give it a certain style. This movie worked best when the scenes were dark, and some of the special effects with Dracula were actually cool.
This movie just suffered from a weak story with forgettable dialogue. It’s an okay watch considering it’s not a long movie and its pretty fast-paced. Wish they did more with it.
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Verdict:
Renfield honestly had the potential to be far more clever than it ended up being. Nicolas Cage showing up and delivering a few hilarious lines made it watchable, but it wasn’t enough for me to call it a good film.
I laughed a few times, but I felt nothing from the emotional beats and felt like the conclusion needed more as well. I’m also kind of disappointed to see Chris McKay as the director here.
His direction on both The Lego Batman Movie and his transition into live-action with The Tomorrow War were both far better than this film. Even the way this film was shot felt strange to me.
