Relationships don't come more toxic than the one between Renfield and his vampire master Dracula. The upcoming comedy-horror Renfield brings their parasitic union into the modern day, in the process putting a blackly humorous twist on Bram Stoker's classic novel.
Nicholas Hoult plays the hapless Renfield who is simply looking to escape the nefarious Dracula's clutches after being compelled to procure human bloodbanks for many years. The latter is played by Nicolas Cage in a surely inspired piece of casting – the actor barely needs any encouragement to go Full Cage, and judging from the accent, teeth, rings and sartorial arrangement, it will be one of his craziest roles so far.
This Dracula has an especially sadistic tendency to make priests explode on demand, and he's imbued the put-upon Renfield with powers that allow him to tear people limb from limb. It all looks suitably nutso and entertaining with support from Awkwafina as the police officer who could point our title character towards something approaching a normal life.
The movie comes from LEGO Batman director Chris McKay, so hopefully the frenetic craziness of that movie will translate into a live-action setting. There is, of course, a rich legacy of Dracula on the big screen that stretches back to the very birth of cinema with Nosteratu. But it's safe to say the Count has never been depicted quite like this before.
Check out the final Renfield trailer and expect to catch it at Cineworld from April 14th.
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