Universal’s Dark Universe, a planned franchise centering on the studio’s many classic monsters like Dracula, the Invisible Man, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, among others, was dead in the water before it even began thanks to Tom Cruise’s The Mummy.
Perhaps this wasn’t as much of a tragedy as it seems; from the ashes of every snuffed out shared universe bursts a new focus on individual storytelling. Enter Renfield, the upcoming horror comedy that had free reign to tell the Dracula story that it wanted to tell. Now that its debut at the Overlook Film Festival has finally brought some reviews to the table, it looks like that cheeky blend of gore, gags, and rather sharp commentary on abusive relationships we were teased with is as good in the film as it is in the trailers.
Rachel Leishman of The Mary Sue gave the film five out of five stars, giving an extra special nod to Nicolas Cage, who apparently is nothing short of perfect as Dracula.
“Chris McKay and screenwriters Ryan Ridley and Robert Kirkman really made this a perfect nod to the Universal monsters we know and love—and a deeper look into toxic relationships and the pain they bring to everyone involved.”
CinemaBlend‘s Mike Reyes praised the film’s bravery that came with deciding on this particular story, comparing it favorably to Universal’s other recent efforts such as M3GAN, Violent Night, and Cocaine Bear.
“Universal has been on a hot streak as of late, with genre films like Violent Night, M3GAN, and Cocaine Bear delivering loud and wild entertainment to theaters. Renfield is squarely at home with those efforts, as it knows exactly the type of movie it is, and confidently wears that on its cape.”
And Tessa Smith of Mama’s Geeky assured us all that whatever we felt from watching the trailers, we can expect many happy returns of the same thing from the full movie.
“Renfield is exactly the movie that you think it is by looking at the trailers. It is pure insanity from beginning to end. Packed with blood and gore, it will take some viewers by surprise when it delivers some important messages about what codependency looks like.”
Renfield stars Nicholas Hoult as the titular character, the longtime assistant to Count Dracula who’s finally fed up with his abusive boss, and sets off for modern-day New Orleans to start a new life. He quickly discovers that walking away from the Transylvanian tyrant isn’t as easy as it sounds, and he just might have to fight tooth and nail to rid himself of this heinous relationship.
Renfield will release to theaters on April 14.