I watched this last night and thought I'd share my thoughts. Renfield, 2023 dir Chris McKay. Comedic action/horror based on a Robert Kirkman property and also an example of Universal trying to leverage its movie monster heritage. Premise: Renfield attends a support group to deal with his feelings about his boss, Dracula.
Although the script is cartoonishly oversimplistic (and the B plot is terrible), I found this film a lot of fun! A competent, stylised production with strong "splatstick" elements reminiscent of early Peter Jackson.
Nicholas Hoult makes a charming, understated Renfield, though I do I think his early work with Hugh Grant in About A Boy seems to have rubbed off on him. Nicholas Cage's performance references the cinematic history of Dracula, with overtones of Christopher Lee (who he kind of looks like) and Bella Lugosi, but also mob movies and of course it's rife with Cage-isms. Awkwafina is in this film as well, but her character does not have much scope. It's a pleasant surprise to see Shohreh Aghdashloo doing a brief turn as a villain.
Tl;dr: Watch this if: you like camp horror comedies and homages, and enjoy Nic Cage. Do not watch this if: you need plots to be believable or well constructed. - @livus
