Riot’s Reviews: Renfield
Creators have been playing around with the concept of Vampires for quite literally hundreds of years. Being a fan of classic literature (and fiction overall) I’m obviously partial to the written adaptations like Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles. Credit where it’s due, Hollywood has come up with some excellent adaptations like the Underworld series, the Blade trilogy, and my guilty pleasure standalone Van Helsing. Some people favor dark and bloody neck biters while others might prefer them…sparkly. But, hardly any of the multitude of iterations made have ever tried to make them funny. Director Chris McKay already has a lot going for him; a trio of big name actors, a pair of time tested writers in Ryan Ridley and Robert Kirkman, and a single legend as immortal as the character himself. But could they collaborate and find a winning formula to bring some laughs to the storied and blood-soaked history of Dracula?
Renfield opens up a bit chaotically, splitting its narrative exhibition between the real-time standoff of Dracula (Nicolas Cage) and a set of vampire hunters and a black-and-white voice over of Robert Montague Renfield (Nicholas Hoult) explaining how he came into the service of the Dark Lord. He’s been tasked with obtaining victims for his master to feed on and caring for him when he is defenseless. In turn, he has been given the gift of longevity and strength as a trade. Surprise to no one, Dracula isn’t the best or kindest of bosses and Renfield’s decades of lonely vigil are getting to him. While taking solace in a support group for people stuck in abusive relationships, Renfield has been secretly taking care of the group’s “problems,” by murdering their toxic partners. After bungling one such attempt, he becomes entangled with a local crime syndicate and the one stubborn cop (Awkwafina) that is determined to put them all away. But when Dracula learns of his extra-curricular activities, the Lord of Evil becomes determined to teach his wayward servant a terrible lesson.
I was exceptionally excited about seeing this film quite literally from the gun. I’ve mentioned being a fan of Hoult before and I have an enormous amount of respect for the comedy stylings of Awkwafina (although if you really want to see her shine, watch The Farewell). And while I’m not necessarily a Nicolas Cage fanatic, I immediately knew his skills as a character actor were going to shine in this role. In this aspect, I was absolutely correct. Cage absolutely makes this film. The mouth full of sharpened teeth, while at times hindering the ability to understand him fully, lends perfectly to his emotionally exaggerated line delivery. His most impressive feat is making a character that is both menacing and overtly silly at the same time. The overall feel of the movie is playful and enjoyable throughout and has a number of outstandingly well-choreographed fight scenes to break up the comedic moments (even though there are tons laughs to be had during the battles). I was particularly fond of the opening narrative sequence, as the filmmakers reenacted a number of classic cinema moments (like Nosferatu) but with Cage and Hoult injected in. There is some really stand-out costume design and even a fun little montage set to the soundtrack of My Chemical Romance’s “Na Na Na” that I really enjoyed. Finally, Hoult and Awkwafina bounced off each other well and provided some of the pinnacle comedic relief during their interactions.
Unfortunately, Renfield had a number of issues that couldn’t be ignored, no matter how good the performances were. Hoult, while doing a fantastic job, was kind of simply repeating his character stylings in Warm Bodies. The storytelling inconsistencies kept popping up throughout the film, particularly involving Renfield’s powers, just how tightly ingrained they were into his link with Dracula, and how/why they are accessible. It also felt like the creators were going to lean harder into the supernatural aspect of the movie and then it quickly diverted back into “real world” façade, which bummed me out. While I normally enjoy his performances, Ben Schwartz really didn’t do it for me as an antagonist and the blood effects that were added to the fight scenes looked like they were pulled out of bad 90’s CGI. There are a number of awkward dialogue lines scattered throughout the film and are most blatant at its close, where you would least want them to be. The ending also suffers from what I think is a common mistake in cinema today, not applying enough risk/consequences to the heroes of the story.
At the end of the day though, my biggest complaint actually comes from the messaging of the film and in this, I’m still a little torn. The writers leaned heavily into the very real psychological phenomenon of co-dependent relationships. Here’s what I like about it: it’s a funny idea for Renfield and Dracula’s dynamic and the film encourages people who are trapped in those scenarios to be more confident in themselves and be brave enough to take control of their own lives. But, where they go horribly wrong is by portraying the co-dependent relationship as a single binary of the victim and the overbearing narcissist that controls them. Not only does this ignore the significant complexity of co-dependent relationships and multitude of reasons people fall into them, it enforces the victim narrative that seems to permeate nearly every aspect of society today. People should be encouraged to take ownership of their lives, but it’s more than unhelpful to dilute their significant others down to unredeemable monsters like Dracula.
Riot’s Rating: 7/10: Did my distaste for the messaging really hurt this film? No, Nicolas Cage is really just that good. Leave the kiddos at home and strap in for a hilarious, wild ride.
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