Written by Athena

So I've been on a gothic romance binge since I first saw Crimson Peak last year. (I know I'm pretty late to this by 11 years.) Something about the aesthetic of large, hauntingly beautiful manors, grim towns, the dapper yet divine complexity of outfits during this period, and tragedy just scratches the right itch.

I've always loved this aesthetic but had a hard time finding movies in this genre. Especially ones that aren't about vampires. However, I came across Luc Benson’s take on Dracula, Dracula: A Love Tale via TikTok where the internet girls were crazy over it, and it did not disappoint. 

It is not the original Dracula but takes many aspects of Bram Stoker's Dracula and focuses on the yearning and romance between Dracula and Elisabetha and focuses on the yearning and romance between Dracula and Elisabetha. It focuses on the tragedy of a prince cursing God after his wife dies and waiting 400 years for the reincarnation of his wife. It touches beautifully upon the grief and the yearning that Dracula experiences and provides a backstory on how he finds his wife after all these years. It blends different time periods together with a whimsical twist and a score from Danny Elfman that definitely sets the tone for the beautiful tale. 

Caleb Landry Jones plays Dracula and Zoë Bleu plays Elisabetha (two actors I had personally not heard of until this film.) They make for brilliant casting and fresh faces of these characters. As well as the priest played by Christoph Waltz.

 It is one of those movies with high rewatch value that takes you into another world. I was quite captivated by the designs, characters, and story in this film. As well as some of the twists and takes on it. The actors all did brilliant jobs portraying their roles and if you are a sucker for gothic romance films I think this one is a refreshing take. 

Funny enough, this movie was released around the same time as Wuthering Heights, so it didn't receive as much traction. But I think it does a much better job at displaying a more realistic depiction of romance and yearning then Wuthering Heights by far.

So if you are looking for a good watch and enjoyed films such as Crimson Peak, Interview with the Vampire, or Nosferatu, be sure to check out Dracula: A Love Tale!