After centuries as Dracula’s sidekick, the vampire’s assistant known as Renfield finds a new way to reinvigorate himself, his afterlife, his legacy, and maybe a path to redemption… or so he thinks. What’s the twist you ask? It is a female heroine that mucks up Renfield’s dastardly plans.
Cue the hangry traffic cop Rebecca Quincy and boom, there is the magic of cinema! In “Renfield,” Nicholas Cage plays the kinda-lead as Dracula, and his performance is beyond funny – very much like Valley Dude days. As in all good pseudo B-movie horror films, the sidekick has his day in the sun so-to-speak. Despite having the teeth for top billing, it’s his sidekick who is the featured character, and it works.
Renfield is an Englishman who is finally ready to take the bull by the horns. Played by Nicholas Hoult, he is portrayed as a tortured soul; an assistant to the notorious vampire, Dracula. The basic plot line has Renfield finding Dracula’s food (aka his victims). In the new age of i-this and that, Renfield looks for an out; a different way to live his so-called life outside the shadow of the Prince of Darkness. Two words best describe Renfield and Dracula: co-dependent… or is that one word?
“Renfield” is an absolutely fantastic horror comedy. OK, maybe it’s not Bela Lugosi-esque, but it’s close enough. It has the perfect amount of cheese and gore. In fact it has some extremely bloody and very graphic deaths; I enjoyed every moment of it.
As a major ska fan, I really enjoyed the many ska jokes. They mention Fishbone, Mustard Plug and Voodoo Glow Skulls. Also, look for a dude wearing a Toasters shirt while a Slackers song is playing (I won’t spoil the scene). There is even a scene where a cop spies some ska lyrics on a wall and asks about them; another cop replies, “Ska is not dead!”
The cast features Nicolas Cage as Dracula, Nicholas Hoult as Renfield, Awkwafina as Rebecca Quincy, Ben Schwartz as Teddy Lobo, and slew of other great characters that brought this film to life. I laughed throughout the entire film and enjoyed it.
This film is filled with gory fun. It’s definitely not for kids as they drop the F-bomb around 50 times. If you liked “Violent Night,” this may be up your alley. Go enjoy this wonderful horror comedy.
