By Gabby Foor
Nothing to see here. Just two Nicks, one older and historically fond of saws, the other younger with a traditionally bold appetite, with fascinating and fantastic filmographies, now both vampiric. Renfield is the ambitiously-told tale of a narcissistic, emotionally manipulative Dracula and his insecure familiar, Renfield. Part vampire epic, part relationship comedy, and all spirit, I’m going to diverge from the less than glowing reviews from most critics, and ignore some warnings from credible sources about previous Nicolas Cage vampire fumbles (Vampire’s Kiss, 1988), to say I don’t think Renfield deserves its lukewarm reception. Cage shines in a dream role, having seen Nosferatu at age 5 and written his own horror scripts. Chris McKay’s film is a shocking winner for me, with writers Ryan Ridley of Community and Robert Kirkman of The Walking Dead, familiar with raising laughs and raising the dead. Clever themes throughout, entertaining campiness, impeccable practical and special effects adding to the kookiness, and incredible leads with a penchant for the freaky can carry some other less-inspiring characters and a wild storyline. I think Renfield is a destination for horror fans who want the drama of a priest exploding from the inside out and a recognizable monster, without the gravity of a typical horror film.
It took me a second to deduce our location, but with the bad snacks and motivational posters, Renfield (Nicholas Hoult), looking perfectly sickly, is sitting in a recovery group for toxic relationships. Formerly a traveling real estate lawyer long ago, Renfield (Robert Montague Renfield) thought he could make a life-changing deal with Dracula (Nicolas Cage). In flashbacks we see various phases of manipulations: wooed like all the other members of the group, made to feel important, and then when the time was right he was turned to a “familiar”—a servant gifted with a tiny portion of his master’s powers and tasked with errands and procuring “meals.” Renfield also seems to be unfortunate in that while Dracula gains power from blood, Renfield gains power from consuming bugs (ew, I’d rather stay weak, but I respect these details ripped from straight the 1897 novel). Though Renfield chooses not to share with the group immediately, he uses their secrets for relative good, hunting down those exes that caused harm for food. As the movie keeps excellent pace, Renfield attacks an ex with ruthless efficiency as Hoult shows off his capabilities for combat.
After collecting the undesirables, Renfield returns to Dracula, in hiding in New Orleans, healing from life-threatening burns from the sun after a clash with hunters some time back. Renfield’s own clash earlier that night sends a dealer, Teddy Lobo (Ben Schwartz) from a well-known gang, speeding into the arms of Rebecca (Akwafina), an officer anxious to make a name for herself and determined to know what the frantic criminal, who aided in the death of her father, was running from—putting more unwanted eyes in the vampires’ direction. In a scene with some wicked makeup effects, somewhere between What We Do in the Shadows and Horrible Bosses, Dracula makes it clear by rejecting Renfield’s food offerings and his idea of a less violent life, as well as mutilating him, what makes him so dreadful to serve. His lack of morality and condescension may be funny to us (maybe nuns do taste better than men and we have to take Dracula’s word it’s not a sex thing), but to Renfield, it’s hardly worth his soul or his innards. As Renfield struggles, Teddy Lobo and his mother, Bellafrancesca (Shohreh Aghdashloo), worry about what must be done to keep their empire secure, and Rebecca begins her own investigations away from the department’s eyes.
Later, tensions rise for Renfield at a bar as he’s surrounded by snacks – nuns and cheerleaders – and his desire to please his master seems to overtake him. Not far behind him is Rebecca, and behind her Lobo, determined to prove he can do the dirty work. As Renfield’s chloroform plan to catch a meal gets nixed when Lobo takes over the bar, Rebecca’s boldness inspires Renfield to act. With a quick munch of a fly, forks, serving trays, and silver platters suddenly turn deadly, and Rebecca and Renfield find themselves fast friends having cleared the assailants. Amazed at her courage staring down a barrel in the face of mockery and death, Renfield wants to know how to find bravery and independence, and feels seen by Rebecca for the first time… and the moment’s over, cut short by the rasping voice of Dracula calling to his servant. Called back to their lair, Dracula has been musing, and has realized: he is a god. Now, after years healing, he has a plan. The world is a dangerous place for mortals, a place longing to be controlled, a world built by “Renfields” that should have to adapt to Dracula, not the other way around. The new world order will be filled with followers, or food, run by Dracula and Renfield, until the end of time. “Bloody hell,” indeed, Renfield.
Obviously, the star of the show and the biggest draw to Renfield is the eccentric, excellent portrayal of a modern-day narcissist Dracula by Cage. Born to play the role, right down to his miniscule facial expressions, he moves, speaks and gesticulates in ancient flamboyant fashions that make his performance too good to ignore. Cage has reached “full power” in this role, as the support group would awkwardly phrase it. His chemistry with Hoult is magical considering they haven’t worked together in almost two decades, but the stars’ energetic banter as dominant and submissive play well with fun dialogue, and Hoult’s hopeful journey is a strange cheery one to watch, even as Dracula employs DARVO. Even if you can’t get into the side stories such as Rebecca’s or Lobo’s, Cage and Hoult can keep you grounded in the larger arc of Renfield, and their performances and the visuals keep you fixated. Oscar nominee and legend Marco Beltrami (Fear Street, A Quiet Place, World War Z, Blade II) lends his musical genius to Renfield. Pinched strings and humming or thundering brass can break through like old monster movies of the past and set a perfect soundtrack to mimic how the old vampires may have been scored. Together, this makes Renfield a sensory delight as well as a comedic one.
Before I began I was ready to heed to warnings and braced myself for so much camp I couldn’t handle it, but I was wrong. Renfield is undoubtedly silly, but it leans into this strength and lets its talented cast and original premise we can all relate to (who hasn’t felt under someone else’s control? Glanced at a self-help book?) carry the burden of keeping the laughs coming through the action and outrageous horror ruthlessness. I left this film with a different appreciation for the vampire genre and another credit to Cage for taking on a unique role and making it all the more defined. This is our generation’s Dracula in bold colors, using welcome mats, with a bad attitude played by a star that’s studied the monster since he was a child, so I trust that Cage delivers a portrayal that fits the times. If you’re looking for a serious story, look elsewhere; just glancing at the casting list you’ll see this is a group of actors that’s not afraid to have a good time while also making some genuine pieces of film. Renfield just hit home release and if you’re feeling like Renfield himself and want to be a bit brave and independent, give it a try, and maybe you’ll surprise yourself doing what the bosses and experts recommend not to…