Nicolas Cage once again steps into the limelight with another off-beat comedy horror. Renfield is a fun take on the mythical legend of the world’s most favorite vampire, Dracula (Nicolas Cage). After the iconic star’s appearance in the off-the-wall movie, Willie’s Wonderland, it’s great to once again see him in a similarly outlandish role.
Renfield Storyline
After hundreds of years of servitude, Robert Montague Renfield (Nicholas Hoult, About a Boy) begins to have doubts about doing the endless bidding of his toothy boss. After falling in love with, Rebecca (actress and rapper, Awkwafina), a New Orleans traffic cop, he finally plucks up the courage to leave the tenuous grip of his master. Attending group meetings designed for people in abusive relationships, Renfield slowly finds the courage to make his first steps to freedom.
While in a local diner, reluctantly finding dinner for his nefarious master, Renfield saves Rebecca’s life using the super-human powers he gets from eating bugs and their lives collide. However, in the process, our unlikely hero makes the policewoman’s enemies his own.
Meanwhile, Dracula is incensed that his long-serving subordinate has turned his back on his evil ways and teams up with the very people that Rebecca has worked so hard to bring to their knees, the Lobo family – a family of mobsters with the police in their pockets and murder on their minds.
The Mindless Fun of Renfield
As with his last horror comedy title, Cage shows that he has a fun side to his usually serious acting. There isn’t a moment that goes by in Renfield that says the movie takes itself seriously and that’s the very point of the brand of horror we have recently seen from the Leaving Las Vegas actor; it’s all for the sole purpose of mindless entertainment and we love it.
The same can be said for the fighting scenes and the gore that they bring. It’s ridiculously over the top and is done in a way that says ‘We’re not taking this seriously, so nor should you’, and it’s this very attitude that brings the fun to the table and leaves the melancholy and fear we’re accustomed to from horror waiting in the wings.
Nicholas Hoult was the Perfect Choice to Play Renfield
With so many actors in the pool waiting to star alongside Cage, casting Renfield would have been no easy feat. However, they chose the perfect actor for the role of the star of the show. The English actor perfectly eases into the role as the kind-hearted Renfield and tops his performance with a narration that would make even Morgan Freeman take note.
Cage’s portrayal of the legendary bloodsucker was a complete contrast to the suave and charming prince of the night we have grown to know. His comical facial expressions and witty dialogue were timed perfectly with that all-important comedic timing, making seeing Cage in such a role all the more refreshing.
Renfield Summary
Renfield is an action-packed horror comedy that doesn’t stop for breath. Hoult and Cage work perfectly side-by-side to bring an abundance of humor to a usually dark tale. Yes, some of the jokes are a major cause for a quick eye-roll but that’s the whole point of this pacey horror comedy.
Not usually fans of the horror-comedy fusion, we went into Renfield with low expectations and an even lower enthusiasm. However, our doubts soon made their way to this fun-loving humorous take on a famed monster and his long-suffering slave.
A shining example of the horror-comedy genre but definitely one to avoid if you’re looking for scares.
Renfield is available now on the streaming platform, Peacock.
