Renfield (2023)

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Posted By: brian@brianschell.com May 15, 2023

Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone

This was heavy on action and comedy, but it’s got Dracula, so, of course, it’s still horror. And there’s a large, violent body count. It’s over the top with blood and gore. Through it all, it’s entertaining and a very fun watch.

Synopsis

We open on Robert Montague Renfield sitting in a support group. It’s the Dependent Relationship Anonymous Group.

We cut back to the 1931 Dracula movie, only with Nic Cage and Nicholas Holt are in the black and white roles. To us, he relays his role as Prince of Darkness’s familiar. He says that he can get super powers from eating bugs and uses those to assist Dracula. We get a scene that shows Dracula is pretty hard to kill. It’s always up to Renfield to clean up the mess and set up their lives after the vampire hunters do their things.

The leader of the group session asks Renfield to share his situation. It’s all very supportive and wonderful. Renfield takes down names of the people who hurt the people in the support group; “Get rid of their monsters by giving mine what he needs.” Caitlyn complains about her boyfriend, Mitch.

The next scene has Renfield take on Mitch, his friends, and the assassin sent to kill Mitch. We see that Renfield is also hard to kill, especially when he’s supercharged on bugs.

Chris and Rebecca Quincy are two cops at a drunk driving checkpoint, and they arrest Tedward Lobo, the assassin’s boss and a major drug dealer. He’s soon released by shady lawyers. Rebecca’s sister Kate is with the FBI, and she wants revenge on the Lobos for the death of their father. Ted’s mother, on the other hand, is a bit of a monster herself.

Renfield tries to talk Dracula into “settling down” so they don’t have to run and re-base so often. Dracula reminds Renfield that his job is relatively simple: bring him bodies.

Rebecca and Chris go to Mulates, a club where Renfield is looking for his next victim. Teddy and his gang storm in with guns at the same time, terrorizing the place. Renfield watches as Rebecca stands up to Ted, and he’s impressed. Then Renfield eats bugs and messes up the baddies, saving her life. She calls him a hero, which is a new thing for him.

Renfield goes home to Dracula, who has developed a plan for world domination. He wants to take his malevolent evil to a new level.

Renfield goes to the support group and is willing to talk this time. They think he’s talking about codependencies, but Renfield’s boss is the real deal. They give him a new feeling of confidence, and he starts setting up a “real life” in the real world for himself. He combs his hair, cleans his fingernails, and buys modern clothes.

Meanwhile, BellaFrancesca Lobo, Ted’s evil mastermind mother, wants Renfield killed. Ted and his gang show up in the old hospital where Dracula’s lair is. He sees them before they see him. Ted tells Dracula what Renfield’s been up to, and Drac’s not happy. He lets Ted go.

Dracula and Renfield have a heart-to-heart about which of them is the real victim and the real monster here. Renfield reads to him from “How to Defend Yourself Against a Narcissist,” which Dracula finds hilarious.

Renfield dashes to the church where the support group holds meetings. He warns everyone that they need to leave now, but then Dracula shows up, and they invite him in. He introduces himself rather dramatically before killing them all.

Rebecca and Chris come in, and Renfield’s the only one there, so they think he’s involved in the killings. The Lobos and police show up, and Chris shows that he’s a traitor. Rebecca has little choice but to go on the run with Renfield.

Dracula talks to Ted and tries to start a partnership. Ted offers to let Drac meet his mother.

Renfield tries to explain things to Rebecca. Kate calls and says that DNA shows Renfield is an 80-year-old serial killer, maybe the most prolific in history. The cops/gangsters show up, and Renfield stops to look for bugs- he eats an ant farm, sand and all. He then beats up and dismembers dozens of assorted bad guys in the juiciest way possible.

Mother Lobo gets a visit from Ted and his new best friend, Dracula. They seem to be thoroughly charmed with each other at first sight. And they have much to discuss. Renfield and Rebecca find out that the gang has kidnaped Kate, and they want to go after her.

At the bad guys’ base, we see that most of the gang has now become familiars. They’re a lot tougher than humans, but Renfield works with it. Renfield and Ted fight as Dracula works on turning Rebecca to the dark side.

Eventually, it comes down to Renfield versus Dracula, and Renfield remembers his lessons on codependency. How do you kill Dracula? Lots of ways!

Renfield sets up a new codependency support group. No– he brings back the same group using Dracula’s blood, and they’re not too thrilled with that.

Commentary

It’s obviously more of a comedy than a horror film, but hey, it’s got Dracula, so it’s here.

Nic Cage is an awesome Dracula. Obviously, he’s hammy and over-the-top, but he’s still great. The Romanian accent comes and goes from scene to scene, but that’s forgivable considering how many years he’s been living among the British and Americans. I’d totally be up for a remake of 1931 with Cage and Hoult, but only if it’s in black and white.

The gang and corrupt cop stuff was hit and miss, but the story needed someone to get between Renfield and Dracula. It uses most of the Dracula tropes and is a lot of fun. It’s not perfect, but it was definitely worthwhile.