RENFIELD (2023)

Studio:   Universal Pictures
Director: Chris McKay
Writer:   Ryan Ridley, Robert Kirkman
Producer: Chris McKay, Samantha Nisenboim, Bryan Furst, Sean Furst, Robert Kirkman, David Alpert
Stars:    Nicholas Hoult, Awkwafina, Ben Schwartz, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Brandon Scott Jones, Adrian Martinez, Nicolas Cage

Review Score:

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Summary:

Finally recognizing their longstanding relationship as toxic, Dracula's familiar Renfield fights to escape his master's shadow while warring with a criminal empire in New Orleans.

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Synopsis:     Show/Hide Spoilers

After his master is horribly scorched during a confrontation with a bishop and a vampire hunter, human familiar Robert Montague Renfield brings Dracula to an abandoned hospital in New Orleans to recuperate. In the meantime, Renfield attends Dependent Relationship Anonymous Addiction Group (DRAAG) meetings at Livespring Church where he receives advice for his toxic relationship with Dracula while also using stories from others to identify abusers he can feed to Dracula guilt-free.

From a story shared by fellow DRAAG member Caitlyn, Renfield tracks down her problematic partner Mitch as he and two other men package drugs stolen from kingpin Bella Lobo's criminal empire. Activating his supernatural powers by eating an insect, Renfield attacks the men until Apache Joe, a luchador hitman sent by Bella to kill the thieves, arrives. Following a fight, Renfield punches off Apache Joe's head, which causes Bella's son Teddy Lobo to drive away in fright in the getaway car.

Teddy crashes into a DUI checkpoint manned by police officer Rebecca Quincy and her partner Chris. Recognizing the opportunity to arrest a member of the Lobo crime family, which she holds responsible for killing her police captain father Morris Quincy, Rebecca takes Teddy into custody only for him to be quickly released by corrupt police captain Browning and a lawyer for the Lobo family, both of whom berate Rebecca. Bella Lobo subsequently orders Teddy to execute Rebecca.

Renfield drags two of the dead men back to the hospital. Disappointed that he did not bring live "food," Dracula tears open Renfield's stomach to remind him of his subservience. Dracula then heals Renfield with his vampiric blood and commands Renfield to bring him cheerleaders or nuns as his next victims.

A pen Renfield used to stab Apache Joe at the crime scene leads Rebecca and Chris to Mulates, a bar frequented by Renfield. When Rebecca and Chris enter, Renfield abruptly abandons his plan to kidnap a cheerleader or nun patronizing the bar.

Teddy and his men arrive to assassinate Rebecca, which triggers a gunfight between the criminals and the cops. Inspired by Rebecca's determination to stand up to Teddy, Renfield powers up with another bug and joins her in taking out Teddy's men. After the fray, Renfield and Rebecca express mutual respect for each other, with Renfield flattered that Rebecca dubs him a "hero."

After summoning Renfield back to the hospital, Dracula unveils his plan for world domination. Renfield grows concerned when Dracula specifies that humanity will either become followers or food, and Renfield will be with him until the end of time.

Renfield attends another DRAAG meeting. Group leader Mark and other DRAAG members motivate Renfield to stop focusing on his partner, so Renfield rents his own apartment and undergoes a fashion makeover as part of gaining back personal power. Renfield also continues connecting with Rebecca when he goes to the police station to give a witness statement.

Bella Lobo orders Teddy and his men to take out Renfield for his role in the Mulates massacre. Meanwhile, Rebecca gives the bloody Mulates pen to her sister Kate, an FBI agent, for DNA testing since she doesn't trust anyone at the precinct.

Teddy's team goes to the hospital in search of Renfield. Dracula violently kills the intruders and takes Teddy captive.

Upon learning of Renfield's newfound independence, Dracula bursts into bats and flies to his apartment for a confrontation. Dracula accuses Renfield of abandoning not just him, but Renfield's wife and daughter, too. Renfield stands up to Dracula's taunts by taking actions outlined in a self-help book. Noticing the book bears a Livespring Church sticker, Dracula immediately leaves.

Renfield rushes to the church to warn the DRAAG group they are in danger, but Dracula still slaughters everyone at the meeting. Dracula threatens that because of Renfield's betrayal, he will unleash suffering on the human race as punishment. Having been led to the church by two women they interviewed earlier, Rebecca and Chris arrive at the scene and arrest Renfield as the sole suspect in the DRAAG murders.

Rebecca tells Chris to call in the arrest, but Chris calls Bella Lobo instead, revealing he is also on the take. Bella, Captain Browning, and Bella's armed operatives surround Rebecca. Bella claims she needs Renfield in order to find out what happened to Teddy so she can punish whoever is responsible. Under a hail of gunfire, Rebecca escapes in her squad car with Renfield.

Still holding Teddy hostage at the hospital, Dracula offers to slaughter all of the Lobo family's enemies in exchange for soldiers he can use as an army of death for world dominance. Teddy agrees to introduce Dracula to his mother.

Renfield and Rebecca recover at his apartment. Renfield explains his relationship with Dracula as he and Rebecca return to a mutual understanding. Rebecca's sister Kate then calls with the pen's DNA results, which confirm whoever is responsible for the recent disappearances has been linked to similar cases all over the world for decades.

Police officers and Bella's henchmen swarm the apartment building. After eating a young neighbor's ant collection to trigger his powers, Renfield joins Rebecca in taking out their attackers.

Teddy brings Dracula to meet his mother, who agrees to a partnership with the vampire. Now empowered as Dracula's new familiar, Teddy beheads Captain Browning when he attempts to quit his criminal association with Bella.

After making up with Renfield, Rebecca learns Bella kidnapped her sister Kate. Renfield warns that Dracula and Bella are stronger together. Rebecca counters that they can team up too, so the two of them prepare for a final faceoff.

At the Lobo headquarters, Renfield battles and defeats Teddy while Rebecca searches for her sister. Dracula shows Rebecca that Kate is gravely wounded, but he offers to heal her with his blood if Rebecca agrees to join him. Renfield expresses disappointment when it appears as though Rebecca will agree, but she makes a move to open the blinds via remote control instead.

Daylight causes Dracula to burst into burning bats that attack Renfield. Dracula reforms and captures Rebecca. Finally asserting his agency, Renfield determinedly fights Dracula until the vampire master becomes suspended in a supernatural protection circle conjured by Rebecca. Renfield and Rebecca then viciously dismember Dracula with torture instruments, burn his body parts with acid, and turn those remains into cubes of concrete that they bury.

Rebecca arrests Bella. Dracula's blood saves Kate from her injuries. Renfield and Rebecca go on to use the blood to resurrect the DRAAG group members that Dracula murdered.

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Review:

"Renfield" puts more than a few cleverly creative flourishes onscreen. Swapping Bela Lugosi and Dwight Frye for Nicolas Cage and Nicholas Hoult, black-and-white recreations of classic scenes that could seamlessly slip into the 1933 original position this funny fright film as a pseudo-sequel to Tod Browning's "Dracula." Reimagining the ultimate vampire for the umpteenth time is a tall task too, but "Renfield" assuredly accepts the challenge by designing a series of gruesome new looks for moviedom's main monster as he recovers in stages from a horrible scorching. Fight scenes also get in on going outside the box with frenetic fisticuffs, one of which pauses for an x-ray cutaway to show bones painfully cracking, Mortal Kombat-style. Now, if this same level of imaginative ingenuity had been applied to the stereotypical storyline and cliched characterizations, maybe "Renfield" wouldn't be such a middle-of-the-road movie.

Needing to recover from that aforementioned scorching, Dracula's longtime lickspittle Renfield brings his master to a hospital hideout in New Orleans. While Dracula gradually builds back his body, Renfield attends twelve-step meetings for people desperate to escape toxic relationships because, a. Renfield is in one himself, and b. It's a great place to get leads on problematic partners he can feed to Dracula guilt-free.

One of those leads inadvertently lands Renfield in the middle of a beef between three bumbling thieves and a powerful criminal empire whose drugs the dimwitted trio stole. That empire belongs to the feared Lobo Family, which is led by matronly Bella Lobo, who uses her overly confident yet often unreliable son Teddy as their operation's enforcer.

Renfield isn't alone in quickly becoming a top target for the Lobos. Wouldn't you know it, it seems like the entire town is in on the take, and of course that includes a completely corrupt police department. Well, almost completely corrupt. Ever since her honorable police captain father was murdered by Teddy, Officer Rebecca Morris has made it her personal mission to take down the Lobo Family herself, never mind how much her efforts rankle the bribed cops who put her on DUI duty, or the criminals who want to kill her.

Inspired by Rebecca's determination to assert herself against adversity, Renfield gobbles up bugs like Pac-Man's power pellets to trigger his supernatural strength. In taking out Teddy Lobo's men together, the two of them realize being under the thumbs of oppressive authority figures helps make them a terrific tandem. There's another team-up about to give them trouble though. Because when Dracula finds out Renfield wants his life back, Drac makes Bella Lobo part of his plan for world domination, and for bringing Renfield back under his control.

Tally up all of the elements we've seen before. We've got a whole precinct of crooked cops with only one solitary standout, haunted by the memory of a parent's unjust murder to boot, wearing a halo. We've got an elegantly dressed kingpin who lives in lavish luxury while her arrogant offspring routinely bites off more ambition than his cowardly teeth can chew. We've got a not-the-least-bit-surprising heel turn from Rebecca's partner, a serendipitous misunderstanding to momentarily muck up Renfield and Rebecca's partnership, and a kidnapped sister whose primary reason for existing is to create conflicts for Rebecca.

We also have Dracula, probably the most overexposed entity in horror history, although "Renfield's" main draw is seeing Nicolas Cage literally chew up scenery as Bram Stoker's iconic creation. Cage fans should be cautious; it's called "Renfield" for good reason, with that reason being Dracula very much plays second, maybe even third or fourth, fiddle in terms of overall screentime. Cage does a lot with a little, just don't expect his presence to dominate proceedings like the premise may mislead one to believe.

This is the space where I usually mention I'm not ga-ga over Cage like a lot of genre fans are, in case that helps calibrate how your predisposition aligns with mine. Awkwafina also doesn't play to my preferences for comedic entertainment, and I find Nicholas Hoult pretty plain too, so "Renfield's" cast isn't exactly exciting to me. However, I'll add that nothing they do in the movie changes my mind either, as I find Awkwafina's pouty personality as Rebecca to be uninteresting and Hoult predictably pedestrian as an understatedly goofy goon who's not much more than a white bread guy anyway.

On the thematic front, "Renfield" exhibits much more originality as an encouraging message about reasserting one's agency to retake power from an abusive partner. Is that prime material for a movie meant to be humorous? Not really. I snickered out loud one time, except I didn't write down the gag. Since then, I've forgotten what the joke was (maybe the welcome mat that allows Dracula inside Renfield's apartment uninvited?), and I only just finished watching the film. Take that for what you will, but unless running bits about ska music put a feather under your armpit, don't expect "Renfield" to bust your gut the way Dracula does to his familiar.

Overflowing with gunplay, boisterous bursts of blood, and stunt-filled sequences, "Renfield" goes heavier on action than it does on laughter. I'm not sure if "John Wick, but with severed limbs instead of automatic weapons" is what audiences want from a flick sold as comedy-horror featuring Nicolas Cage as Dracula, but I will say "Renfield" handles chaotic fight scenes and domestic drama with much more panache than it handles the hammy humor and formulaic plot points.

Review Score: 50

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