Renfield (2023)

Movie poster.

Bryan Furst

Sean Furst

Chris McKay

***Renfield*** is a 2023 American supernatural comedy horror film co-produced and directed by Chris McKay from a screenplay by Ryan Ridley, based on a story by Robert Kirkman (who also co-produces the film). Featuring characters from the 1897 novel *Dracula* by Bram Stoker, the film stars Nicholas Hoult as the title character and Nicolas Cage as Dracula, with Awkwafina, Ben Schwartz, Adrian Martinez, and Shohreh Aghdashloo in supporting roles.

*Renfield* had its world premiere at the Overlook Film Festival on March 30, 2023, and is scheduled to be released in the United States on April 14, by Universal Pictures.

## Premise

Dracula's lackey, R. M. Renfield, finds a new lease on life in modern-day New Orleans when he falls in love with Rebecca Quincy, a traffic cop, and decides to finally stand up to his creator in hopes of finally breaking free of his servitude.

## Cast

* Nicolas Cage as Dracula, a legendary Transylvanian vampire, and Renfield's ill-tempered and narcissistic boss.
* Nicholas Hoult as R. M. Renfield, the long-suffering servant of Dracula.
* Awkwafina as Rebecca Quincy, an aggressive traffic cop working for the New Orleans Police Department and Renfield's love-interest.
* Ben Schwartz as Teddy Lobo, a mob enforcer.
* Shohreh Aghdashloo as Ella, a mob boss.
* Adrian Martinez as Chris Marcos, a traffic cop and Quincy's co-worker.
* Brandon Scott Jones as Mark, a support group leader
* Jenna Kanell as Carol, a support group member
* Bess Rous as Caitlyn, a support group member.
* James Moses Black as Captain J. Browning.
* Caroline Williams as Vanessa
* Miles Doleac as Unnamed Character

## Production

### Development

In July 2014, Universal Pictures announced classic horror film properties, including the character of Count Dracula, as part of a unified shared universe with Alex Kurtzman and Chris Morgan attached to oversee its development. After the negative reception of *Dracula Untold* (2014), its connections to a unified series were downplayed, and *The Mummy* (2017) was re-positioned as the first film in the series. *The Mummy*, a critical and commercial failure, resulted in Universal's decision to shift its focus on individual storytelling and move away from the shared universe concept.

*Renfield* is based on an original pitch by Robert Kirkman and uses a screenplay by Ryan Ridley. In November 2019, Dexter Fletcher was hired to direct the film for Universal and Skybound Entertainment. The film was described as a comedic approach to the story of Count Dracula, in the vein of Taika Waititi's vampire mockumentary *What We Do in the Shadows* (2014), that focused on the character of Renfield. In 2020, Leigh Whannell's *The Invisible Man* became a commercial and critical success for Universal and served as a relaunch to its monster universe. In April 2021, Chris McKay entered negotiations to direct after Fletcher left to work on a reboot of *The Saint* for Paramount Pictures. McKay was hired because he reportedly gave a successful pitch combining the story's mix of humor and action, "something the studio was looking to have more of".

### Casting

Nicholas Hoult was cast as Renfield in August 2021. Nicolas Cage was cast to play Count Dracula in November, Awkwafina and Ben Schwartz were added to the cast in December, and Adrian Martinez, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Bess Rous, James Moses Black, Caroline Williams, and Brandon Scott Jones were confirmed to star the following year. An "enormous" fan of Dracula and the source material, Cage prepared for his role by observing the distinctive ways Dracula was portrayed on screen by Bela Lugosi, Frank Langella, and Gary Oldman. "What can I bring that will be different?", he said, "I want it to pop in a unique way. We've seen it played well, we've seen it play not so well, so what can we do? So I'm thinking to really focus on the movement of the character ... [and] that perfect tone of comedy and horror". Cage mentioned *An American Werewolf in London* (1981), *Ring* (1998), and *Malignant* (2021) as inspirations for the role. The film will mark Cage's first live-action film by a major studio since *Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance* (2011).

### Filming

Filming began in New Orleans on February 3, 2022, with Mitchell Amundsen serving as cinematographer. On February 8, more than twenty vehicles belonging to the production crew were burglarized. One security guard was present at the time of the incident, which occurred late at night in a secured parking lot. Crew member Elmo Peoples said the vandals had stolen his insurance papers, two bank cards, and a laptop. He added, "I'm supposed to be here all week and I don't even want to come back because I feel like they don't really care about us as much as the main characters or actors." Love Bugs Film LLC reassured the production crew that they would hire additional security. Filming wrapped on April 14, 2022, exactly one year prior to the film's scheduled release.

### Post-production

Ryan Folsey, Giancarlo Ganziano, and Mako Kamitsuna serve as editors.

## Release

*Renfield* had its world premiere at the Overlook Film Festival on March 30, 2023. It is scheduled to be released in theaters on April 14, 2023, by Universal Pictures.

## Critical Reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 74% based on 39 reviews with an average rating of 7.1/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Although it fails to take full advantage of its committed stars and killer premise, Renfield's batty horror-comedy blend sinks in just enough to leave an impression. On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 74 out of 100, based on six critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". On IMDB, which uses a star rating from 0 to 10, *Renfield* has a 7/10 star rating.