A cinematic legend and a rising star combine in a dark comedy spun out from a minor character in a classic horror tale? It could work. It could also be an unmitigated disaster. According to the first official reviews, Renfield isn’t a disaster at all. The news isn’t just positive, there are some surprising story points and thematic choices leaking out.

Included in these is how the Movie, among its dark comedy stylings and buckets of gore played for laughs, is genuinely respectful of both horror traditions and the legacy of the characters.

This even extends to an unexpected explanatory opening montage with Nicholas Hoult (Renfield) and Nic Cage (Dracula) directly replacing Dwight Frye and Bela Lugosi in footage from the 1931 Dracula. Hoult channels Frye and recreates his distinctive laugh more than once in the movie. The music of Swan Lake, the opening theme to the 1931 Dracula, features in the score mix.

Empire reviewer Kim Newman is pretty much the go-to guy for all things vampiric. A horror fan, Dracula expert, and writer of the Anno Dracula series of books, he is the first name on any booking sheet when you want a talking head to discuss this stuff.

He gives the movie four stars and points to the Lon Cheney London After Midnight inspiration for this version of Dracula. Of the lead villain, he says:

“After decades of vampires who fall into the doomed-romantic or feral-junkie categories, Cage gives us a Dracula who’s evil on all levels — petty, sarcastic and manipulative with his abused minion, and grandiose…”

The LEGO Batman Movie director Chris McKay helms and produces Renfield. The central story tells how the Prince Of Darkness and his underling have developed a toxic relationship that is thrown into sharp relief when Renfield falls in love with a feisty but perennially aggressive traffic cop (Awkwafina) in New Orleans. Newman goes on to say:

“It’s a horror-comic orgy of gore, with any number of bad guys torn to pieces, but occasionally pauses for poignant moments about the life Renfield lost by submitting to his master and unusual spins on vampire lore. Cage, who ate a real cockroach while starring in Vampire’s Kiss, has obviously been waiting for this gig all his life and chews every morsel given him, but Hoult and Awkwafina give the movie heart.”

So that’s the vampire nut. What do others have to say about Renfield?

“It’s peak horror-comedy, much more American Werewolf in London than Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and ultimately it’s fun primarily because it doesn’t commit too hard to any one thing.”

Maggie Boccella, Collider

“Renfield knows exactly what it wants to achieve and does so effectively, anchored by its lead performances and some very enjoyable super-violent action sequences which earn its R rating honestly.”

Liz Shannon Miller, Consequence Film

“Renfield is more Raimi than Coppola… a horror comedy that does its best to do both genres proud. Renfield is a goofball gorefest that has way more martial arts action sequences than I would expect out of a Dracula adaptation.”

Linda Codega, Gizmodo

When the only tool you have is a hammer, then everything starts to look suspiciously like a nail. As such, one particular outlet’s view of the movie is so hilariously on-brand that you can almost imagine the reviewer taking a break from screaming at the sky about fairness and feeding multiple cats to write:

“Luckily, director 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.”

Rachel Leishman, The Mary Sue

Don’t ever go changing! It is not all good news though. One person out there really didn’t like Renfield at all.

“How this dreadful movie slipped past the normally keen folks at Universal, who can generally discern if they’re making a movie that’s good, bad, or – as is this case – HORRIBLE – is indeed a stumper to me.”

Edward Douglas, The Weekend Warrior

Shohreh Aghdashloo, Ben Schwartz, Adrian Martinez, and Bess Rous co-star in Renfield, based on a pitch by The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman. Rick and Morty writer Ryan Ridley is behind the script.

Renfield is out in theaters on April 14th.

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