Renfield Trailer Sneaks Out of its Coffin
Universal is putting a new spin on a familiar story. Earlier today, the studio released a trailer for Renfield, a horror-comedy-action mishmash about the unwitting servant of Dracula. Based on the trailer and a vague Wikipedia plot synopsis, Renfield centers on the titular character from the Dracula story, who is still alive in modern-day New Orleans – and still working for the Count. But he’s seeking an end to their “toxic relationship” and manages to get involved with a cop. It’s hard to tell much, but this looks like a movie where the premise does at least half the heavy lifting – well, that and the casting. Nicholas Hoult plays Renfield, with Awkwafina as Rebecca, the police officer. But the showstopper is Nicolas Cage as Dracula, which is what will really get people into the theater (they hope). Directed by Chris McKay and written by Robert Kirkman and Ryan Ridley, Renfield will hit theaters on April 14, 2023. You can see the trailer below:
After seeing the Renfield trailer, I’m convinced this is something driven by its concept: Dracula from Renfield’s perspective. Well, sort of; it isn’t really Bram Stoker’s story but a new one that sees the pair transported to the modern world. The other selling point is Nicolas Cage playing Dracula, which is one of those whacked-out concepts you almost have to see. Based on the trailer, Cage seems to be playing it mostly straight; he even reminded me a bit of Christopher Lee in that one close-up towards the end (though that may be at least partly because they both have long faces).
There are some neat ideas, too, like Renfield attending a support group for people in troubled relationships or using bugs the way Popeye uses spinach. I’m not thrilled with the execution, however. A lot of the humor is too cutesy, like the therapy group shouting generic bad relationship tropes that Renfield agrees are true of Dracula. (Why not have Renfield say these things while the group nods their heads in understanding? That would make more sense and feel a lot less forced.) But Nicholas Hoult looks like he’s making the best of it; some of his reactions are perfectly timed, avoiding diving into the corny mess the rest are making of the group therapy scene. Awkwafina looks like she’s playing Awkwafina, which will work however much her shtick usually does for you.
I do like the people behind Renfield, though. Chris McKay directed The Tomorrow War, which I loved, and writer Robert Kirman is the guy who wrote the Invincible comic and produces the show, while Ryan Ridley has written some outstanding episodes of Rick and Morty (a few of which are spread across three best-of lists I wrote and you can read in this order: 1, 2, and 3). That being said, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been chewing up and spitting out Rick and Morty writers lately, so being a veteran of that show is not a guarantee of talent. Renfield is a great idea, but I’m not overly optimistic about the result.
