Renfieldhas become one of those movies that people can’t agree on when it comes to whether it is good or bad. The film kicked off with an impressive 92% critics score onRotten Tomatoes, but as the film secured a decent preview box office haul of $900,000 domestically, its reviews began to take a massive dip.
Although first audience reviews have been kind, landing the horror comedy an 82% score and heaping praise on Nicolas Cage’s take on Dracula as a particular high point of the movie, the new wave of critic reviews has not had quite as many good things to say about Universal’s latest reworking of their Monsters franchise. That has seen the movie drop into “rotten” territory before pulling back up to its current position of 60%. However, it seems from the main consensus that the one thing that has saved the film massively is Cage.
Renfieldis a different take on the Dracula mythos, with the titular servant taking center stage and Dracula appearing as his overbearing boss in a limited capacity. While plenty have enjoyed the movie, there must be a part of the production team questioning whether sidelining the Count was the best idea. The main gripes about the film seem to be a lack of any real plot and a mismatched tone between the main stars, which is only being forgiven by some for Cage’s performance and the dynamic between him and Hoult as the put-upon Renfield.
Related:Nicholas Hoult Says Seeing Nicolas Cage as Dracula on Set Was One of the Most Bizzare Scenarios of His Life
Renfield Doesn’t Play Safe With the Dracula IP
There have been many takes on Dracula over the last century. To make that point,Renfieldis one of two movies based on the Bram Stoker creation, the other being a more traditional horror thriller,The Last Voyage of the Demeter. One thing that can be taken fromRenfieldis that not every Universal Monsters project has to play by the book. This is something thatMovieweb’s Richard Fink noted in his reviewof the movie, saying:
“In an era where superhero properties and films based on books are worried about altering the material in fear of angering their original audience, Universal’s willingness to not be precious with their iconic monsters is refreshing. Renfield shows just how versatile the Universal Monsters can be, and that there is still life in this franchise so long as it’s infused with new blood.”
It seems that whileRenfielddidn’t manage to land for everyone, it has done enough to prove that Tom Cruise’sThe Mummywasn’t the death toll for the properties and further show that perhaps there doesn’t need to be a shared universe to make this characters into decent earners. Whether there will be more to come fromRenfieldin the future, or perhaps evena spin-off featuring Nicolas Cage’s Draculaas its frontman, this weekend probably won’t see the horror-comedy overtakeThe Super Mario Bros. Movieat the top of the box office charts. However, it can still deliver enough to ensure it isn’t anywhere near being a flop.
