Renfield
A decade ago, my now-wife and I began dating. The first film we saw as we became “Facebook official” was “Warm Bodies.” I thought about that movie a lot as I watched “Renfield,” and not just because of the Nicholas Hoult connection, and that I was watching it with Meredith, as well. Both films are horror-comedies where the protagonists have to display trust towards one another, and meet each other halfway, if the dilemma they’re faced with is going to be resolved. I love how both figure that out.
Ryan Ridley’s screenplay inverts the Bram Stoker narrative about Dracula and Renfield by putting the bug-eating servant front-and-center, and focusing on a dynamic where Dracula is an abusive boss and Renfield is a put-upon employee who starts to recognize the toxicity of their relationship. It’s a smart take, and one where I think a lot of ground can be explored, but on top of that, we start to see as Renfield- by seeing others in his situation- remembers what humanity is like, and- as with Dexter Morgan- hopes he can use his talents against bad guys only. In theory, it’s a great idea, but after almost a century, Dracula is not one to take no for an answer.
The casting of Nicolas Cage as Dracula seems like a natural fit- putting an actor with a penchant for big moments and theatrical delivery into a role that has been twisted and turned in every direction is assured of success, right? With this film’s over-the-top nature, I think Cage works wonderfully. You are not getting the nuance or subtle depth of Bela Lugosi or Christopher Lee, but seeing Cage just chew the scenery in this film as he deals with Renfield’s betrayal of their core tenants together is wickedly entertaining. (I had forgotten Hoult played Cage’s son in “The Weather Man,” which makes this even wilder a pairing.) I appreciate how Ridley and director Chris McKay just allow Cage to feast on every impulse he has for the role, and turn this Dracula into a full-on narcissist, one that we fully understand why Renfield would want to get away from.
If the central premise is going to work, Renfield has to have something- or rather, someone- opposed to Dracula he can move towards. Feeling empathy for those in the support group he’s been going to is a good start, but an individual is preferable. Enter Rebecca, a cop played by Awkwafina who’s trying to capture a drug kingpin responsible for her father’s death. I like Awkwafina- and not just because I met her at the 2019 Atlanta Film Festival; I like her personality in films like this and “The Farewell” and “Shang Chi” and she makes a good foil for Renfield, someone whom is startled by the situation she finds herself in, but is willing to go with it. They make a nice pair of heroes in this film, and I like how she has to meet Renfield halfway if they’re going to work together to solve this.
“Renfield’s” tone won’t work for everyone- it’s incredibly violent, sometimes very silly, and Cage is ramped up to 11- but I very much enjoyed it, and think it could hit with the right audience.
