Bringing Out the Undead

Nicolas Cage Is Out for Blood as Dracula on New Orleans Set of Renfield https://t.co/c8n1AJLQ6O

— People (@people) March 23, 2022

It only took thirty years from one Coppola to another in delivering another unique incarnation of Count Dracula. Sure, Nicolas Cage isn't a stranger to blood sucking, but playing the son of Dracul is a way more flamboyant venture - and Cage has plenty of that to offer. Aside from being dressed like a gameshow host from the seventies, the obvious inspiration from Bela Lugosi's hair and make-up are more than apparent. There's also the quintassential pendant, which harkens back to the original prop and compliments the whole ensemble remarkably well.

Turns out the exclusive scoop photo is from Chris McKay's film Renfield, due to hit the theatres sometime next year. Red flags aplenty after discovering that this is meant to be a comedy and that annoying sidekick from Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021) is in it. Will check it out for Cage eventually, though.

It's a good time to point out we're long overdue on a worthy adaptation of Count Dracula. Admittedly, to the annoyance of most discerning vampire fans, I quite enjoyed Universal's superhero stylings of Dracula Untold (2014) from its failed Monsterverse endeavour and found it far more entertaining than some of the other contemporary fare that was out there; such as Dario Argento's ridiculous, Dracula 3D (2012), or that atrocious Dracula (2020) miniseries from BBC/Netflix, which made the count a wisecracking cockney.

Since we're on the subject of the wildly unpredictable Nicolas Cage, his performance was really stellar in last year's Pig. Unfortunately, I found the pacing for the film a little too slow for my liking, but hats off for poking fun at all the Masterchefs in this world. The restaurant scene was a genuine chef's kiss moment:

Pig (Restaurant Scene)

(Michael Sarnoski, 2021)