“Nicolas Cage is Dracula.” Amazing, huh? I’ve said four words and you already know whether or not you will see this film. It’s not even a question at this point. Does the thought of Nicolas Cage playing the cheesiest, most over-the-top Count Dracula ever make you smile or cringe? Funny thing is the film isn’t really about the Count, but about his familiar, a semi-human named Robert Montague Renfield, a man finally waking up to realize how abusive the relationship between he and his boss has become.
A familiar is a servant, a minion. And the long-lived Renfield (Nicholas Hoult) has been servant to Count Dracula since the “what’s a Nazi?” era. Feeding off Dracula’s lifeforce … and bugs … Renfield has become a spineless, 
ageless loner. Do not mistake his enhanced self-doubt for wimpery; Renfield can f*** you up. You see, when the dude eats a live bug, he gets temporary super powers and when you can rip a guy’s arms off, it matters little how much self-doubt you contain. FWIW, I call this the “Renfield Fly Rule.”
The genius of this film is the reflection on the era we live in. The story is a classic Dracula tale, but focuses entirely on the minion. This is modern life, where even the toadies of the greatest villains among us want their names heard. In a sense, that is exactly who Renfield is and why he despises himself so. His job is to feed Dracula, to get him out of trouble, to nurse him back to health when and if necessary. The film is paced by Renfield presenting his support group for those who have to deal with narcissists on a regular basis. And, damn, narcissism might not have been much of a thing in the 20th century, but we all know some classic narcissists now, don’t we?
Meanwhile, Renfield/Dracula have crossed paths with the local druglord’s idiot son (Ben Schwartz) and the vengeance filled cop who needs to take the druglord down (Awkwafina). Renfield keeps running across people like this because his bright idea was to feed Dracula bad guys, the kind of people no
one would miss. So they’re cokeheads … what’s the biggie, Big D?
One way of viewing Renfield is a standard comedy with standard comic premise: a mediocre man trying to better his situation and realizing he might be in over his head. On another level, this is a standard Nic Cage film, featuring Sir Nicolas of No Shame in all his gooey glory. And on a third, much deeper, level, Renfield is a modern take on subjugation from the perspective of a classic oppressor. For as long as civilization has existed, some have actively oppressed others, but we finally live in an age in which –while we can’t actually do much of anything about leveling the playing field – we can ask the co-opted and defanged, “How does that make you feel?” We can even sympathize while we the unempowered rail with impotence at the thought. There is comedic joy within the helplessness.
I dunno how long Renfield’s comedic shelf-life will last; my guess is that the era following ours will make comedies like this obsolete with the next societal iteration. But for now, I think Renfield is genius. Yes, gory and messy, but genius. If you can stomach the vile on screen, you might recognize the society you live in reflected in hilarious fashion.
There once was a servant of Drac
Trying desperately to take his life back
But the vamp wouldn’t yield
And insisted that Renfield
Br grateful he wasn’t a human snack
Rated R, 93 Minutes
Director: Chris McKay
Writer: Ryan Ridley, Robert Kirkman
Genre: Nicks at nite
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Looks like me
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: If you dislike blood and Cage, I’ve got bad news for you
