Renfield Review: Pretty Much Exactly What It Marketed Itself As

Renfield is pretty much exactly what it presents itself as in the marketing, for good and for ill, and while it is amusing, it doesn’t take the time to really dig into the interesting concepts and topics it presents.

Director: Chris McKay
Summary: Evil doesn’t span eternity without a little help. In this modern monster tale of Dracula’s loyal servant, Nicholas Hoult (Mad Max: Fury Road, X-Men franchise) stars as Renfield, the tortured aide to history’s most narcissistic boss, Dracula (Oscar^® winner Nicolas Cage). Renfield is forced to procure his master’s prey and do his bidding, no matter how debased. But now, after centuries of servitude, Renfield is ready to see if there’s a life outside the shadow of The Prince of Darkness. If only he can figure out how to end his codependency.

When word came down that Nicolas Cage was going to star in a Dracula film for Universal, people started to pay attention. When the first look of Cage in his costume made the rounds, people started to get a little excited. And when the first trailer came out and showed off what appeared to be a completely buckwild movie, everyone was wondering if this thing was really going to work. For some films, whether or not they work comes down to whether or not you think they will tickle your specific interests. Some people don’t like certain tropes or genres, so they know to avoid those things [myself and horror, for example]. Renfield is a film that is honest about what it is in the trailer, and if you watched that trailer and thought that it seemed like your jam, then it likely will be. However, if you watched the trailer and didn’t think it seemed like something you would be interested in, then there isn’t enough in Renfield to convince you otherwise.

The gore is the type of over-the-top violence one would expect in a film like Deadpool or an episode of The Boys. It isn’t the kind of gross-out gore that you might see in other horror movies, but the kind that makes you laugh and wince at the same time. The gross-out factor really only comes in regarding Renfield himself and how he “gets” his powers as Dracula’s familiar, but in the context of a horror/comedy film, it’s pretty tame. We have certainly seen worse, and there isn’t anything that will make anyone who knows this is an R-rated movie too uneasy. The film doesn’t take anything too seriously, from the story to the violence, and it keeps everything rather light.

However, that is to the detriment of the theme and the story that Renfield is looking to explore. From the beginning, this movie frames itself as an exploration of Renfield and Dracula’s dynamic through that of a co-dependent or abusive relationship. It’s a serious topic using familiar tropes to explore them. When someone in Renfield’s support group calls his boss a “monster,” they mean it quite literally and not in the way that everyone else in the room is experiencing their “monsters.” People have been using science-fiction, horror, and comedy to explore dark themes for as long as these genres have existed. But Renfield is very keen to keep things moving along and not linger too much on the serious topics it is exploring out of fear of ruining the mood of the film.  And as a result, it doesn’t really dig into them.

At its core, Renfield is a very dark film, but the filmmakers don’t want the audience to think about that for too long, so the darkness doesn’t get the chance to linger. The atmosphere and reality of what Renfield is going through is never really given a chance to sink in. There are moments where it becomes very apparent the hell this man has been living in, but the film is quick to move back to its B-story about Awkafina’s vendetta against gangsters. There was enough material for a slightly less comedic version of this film that didn’t need that entire B-story even to exist. Every time we cut back to it, the pacing of the movie grinds to a halt and makes something that is just over 90 minutes feel longer.

The film is at its best when it gives its characters time to shine. Nicolas Hoult is a lot of fun as Renfield and seems to be making a career of playing characters that look like they are about to fall over but could also kick your ass. It’s not a bad niche, and he plays it well. His dynamic with Cage is fun, and Cage is clearly having the time of his life playing this version of Dracula. He’s not in the same movie as everyone else, and the juxtaposition of that adds to the comedy, but it’s a good thing. He doesn’t have a ton of screen time, but his presence can be felt lingering over the entire movie, and it makes the moments when he emerges from the shadows all the more impactful. While Awkwafina does the best she can with the script she was given, her character is one of the weaker aspects of the movie and drags down the pacing whenever we are forced to cut back to her.

Renfield is fun enough, but if it had the ambition to take its own premise a little more seriously, it could have been great. As it is, it’s a fun time at the movies if horror/comedy is your thing. However, this film won’t convert those that aren’t a fan of the horror/comedy genre already. This is one for the believers, the devoted, and aside from that, not much else. The film has very niche appeal and will likely gain a cult following over the years, but it isn’t likely to be a box office smash. Perhaps it will find its audience on streaming.

Renfield

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Review by Kaitlyn Booth

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6.5/10

Renfield is pretty much exactly what it presents itself as in the marketing, for good and for ill, and while it is amusing, it doesn’t take the time to really dig into the interesting concepts and topics it presents.