Renfield (2023) - Movie Review

What do you get when you take a classic Universal Monster, mix in a dash of ultra violence, add in an incredible cast, and set Nick Cage loose on the city of New Orleans?

One of the most fun you’ll have watching a movie in a long time.

Let’s discuss.

Do you remember the 90’s? It was a magical time for film. I don’t think there’s ever been a decade as transformative for film. The introduction and subsequent boom of the VHS and BETAMAX formats in the 80’s gave filmmakers the freedom to make stories that would have never been able to get made, or would have never gotten enough funding to be passable on screen. The 90’s benefitted from the 10 years of success and improvements to the formats and created an entirely new revenue stream for the industry that opened up the flood gates of creativity. You had companies like Cannon, Empire Pictures, Full Moon Pictures, Orion, Vestron, and others pumping out insane films like Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (the best sequel), Subspecies, Masters of the Universe, Earth Girls Are Easy, and the Adams Family. That’s not even mentioning the wilder things that came out like the inadvertent horror-comedy classic, Waxwork 2 and the unfunny, but still incredible Dead Heat. It was a great time when movies were fun, before everything had to be a franchise or shared universe. You’d get a random movie like the underrated Rutger Hauer vehicle Split Second or the awesome exorcism action/thriller The First Power and you wouldn’t know what to expect. It would be an awesome one off experience as filmmakers pushed each other to try new things. The art of imitation was still in its infancy.

Renfield reminds me of that time. It’s a well-acted, fun, comically gory ride that’s not only an homage to the classic, Universal Monsters Dracula, but also a sequel.

Renfield is a 2023 Action/Comedy/Horror film brought to us by director Chris Mckay and writers Robert Kirkman, Ryan Ridley, and Ava Tramer. Don’t worry, the three writer curse doesn’t apply here. Kirkman wrote the original story, McKay adapted it into the screenplay and Tramer cleaned up the script and made final adjustments.

The film focuses on the eponymous bug-eating sidekick of Dracula as he traverses history and reaches the modern day. Having lived life as not only a slave, but also as reluctant serial killer. Being a vampire’s familiar is a dirty job and Renfield is beginning to feel the weight of all the blood on his hands. Immortality isn’t all it’s cracked up to be and Renfield has reached a breaking point. His conscience dictates that he only target bad people to be the food for his master, so he begins targeting the ire of his Co-Anon colleagues with disastrous consequences as he finds himself on the wrong side of a gang war between a dangerous underworld family and a single honest cop. What follows is a non-stop action filled romp with Giallo levels of gore and quite a bit of heart as Renfield tries to figure out just how many people he needs to kill before he can be a good person, but will he be able to save his friends and overcome his toxic relationship with the Lord of Darkness or will he be cut down in his search for redemption?

You’ve got to watch this movie.

The closest comparison I have for the feel of this movie is the Raid 2 meets Monster Squad.

This is the closest I will ever get to see my Killing Heart novels adapted to screen.

The digital and practical effects in this film are top notch which is to be expected coming from the brilliant Kutcher brothers and their company Spectrum FX. I especially love the disgusting first few looks of Dracula as he goes from charred husk to gooey mess.

Likewise the actings is also incredible with pretty much everyone getting their moment. I of course loved seeing my favorite scream queen, Caroline Williams make an appearance, on top of all the other quality character actors used throughout the movie. Nicholas Holt gets to show-off his incredible comic timing and charm that made his turns in About a Boy and Mad Max: Fury Road so successful with Awkwafina providing a fantastic straight man to his comedy bent.

What can I say about Awkwafina that I didn’t already say in my glowing review of Shang Chi? She’s amazing. I had no idea who she was before Shang Chi and I have actively sought out new things with her in it ever since. I love her voice, her expression, and the way she somehow can play a very similar character in every movie, but it somehow feels fresh and fun.

The rest of the cast is a who’s who of that guys who all act their asses off, as character actors often do. I mean you’ve got the voice of The Expanse herself, Shohreh Aghdashloo acting alongside Bed Schwartz for god sakes! For genre cinemaphiles like myself, seeing a cast of almost entirely character actors is refreshing, but when you see these names al in one film—I mean look at this list: William Ragsdale (Fright Night), Christopher Winchester, Dave Davis, Derek Russo, Adrian Martinez, and Brandon Scott Jones. I know these names don’t jump off the page for most, but I loved seeing this incredible performers get their due.

It helps that they had a brilliant script work off written in part by the living legend and all around nice guy—Robert Kirkman, the creator of The Walking Dead, Invincible, and the original mind behind Marvel Zombies. As an independent artist and vendor at Arizona comic-cons, I was lucky enough to meet and speak to Mr. Kirkman on multiple occasions. Unlike most comic book people—this guy is quality. Once you meet him once, you’ll root for him forever. He is one of the most generous successful comic book writers I’ve met. Having met and been thoroughly disappointed by one of my childhood heroes, Todd Mcfarlane, on multiple occasions (asshole is too nice a word), Kirkman really stands out.

This is just a film full of people to root for.

What’s that?

I forgot someone?

Nick who?

Nick Cage is back, baby. Following up on the incredible Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, Cage continues his Nuevo-Shaman renaissance. It’s obvious how much Nick loved this role. He isn’t the star of the film, which works to his advantage as every time he appears he’s menacing and grotesque. The scenery is chewed at alarming rates as his version of Dracula creepers his way through scenes. What’s incredible about Nick Cage is that you know that he’s explosive and that a meltdown is never far away, and this works for the character of Dracula who always feigns charm but is a brutal, unfeeling killing machine. I would compare this comedic role to the dramatic role Heath Ledger played in The Dark Knight. Do I think Cage will win an Oscar?

No.

But the idea of sparingly using the villain, letting them keep some mystique and menace while also making them unrepentant is an oddly fresh take. In my childhood, bad guys were BAAAAAD guys. They didn’t have to have some drawn out story of how their actions are justified, because the world isn’t woke enough, or they had their lunch money stolen once, or their latte wasn’t hot enough. So, what’s old is new again here. The gangsters are scumbags, corrupt cops are losers, and the vampire is a goddamn monster.

You’ve got to watch this movie.

Please.

I bought it immediately, because I want to see more movies like this. Support the films you like.

Renfield is available to Rent or Own on all Digital Platforms.