Parodies are a very special art form. They have to be well versed in their source material and be as good a declaration of love as they are satirical. Of course, they also have to successfully attack the funny muscles. This becomes particularly difficult with a template that has actually been republished a thousand times.
Fortunately, even with these thousands of new editions, there are always new creative approaches that simply retell everything better and funnier. One of them is Renfield alias: Horror classic Dracula in a very, very different way. You can currently stream this new approach with a subscription on Amazon Prime Video.
Renfield on Amazon Prime examines the horror legend Dracula from a whole new perspective
How many times have we seen the story of the most famous vampire of all time from the Count’s point of view? How often from the perspective of his victims Jonathan and Mina Harker, or through the eyes of the vampire hunter Van Helsing? Too often, probably. But what’s actually wrong with his poor, troubled but always loyal servant…Renfield (Nicholas Hoult)?
So. Renfield’s nerves are slowly getting to the end. After centuries of service to Dracula (Nicolas Cage), he realizes in America’s modern work culture: his working relationship is seriously toxic. He receives no recognition, no appreciation, and yet has to commit horrific crimes because of it. That seems unfair to him somewhere.
Renfield wants to make a fresh start. In freedom. But emancipating yourself from such a powerful being is anything but easy. The only one who really gives him courage is the rebellious police officer Rebecca Quincy (Awkwafina). She involves him in an important case and suddenly the world looks completely different.
Renfield is not only creative, but also really funny thanks to Nicolas Cage and Nicholas Hoult
In an age of misleading trailers, Renfield is actually exactly what it says on the tin: a really nasty, bloody comedy. This means that there is absolutely no holding back when it comes to violence, so that all the fights are really awesome – but also incredibly funny. This is not for sensitive stomachs. But for fans of biting parodies.
Deadly black humor can quickly overstep the mark, but the perfect tone is always struck here. The Dracula myth is beautifully mocked. Anyone who knows a bit about classic vampire clichés will come here all the time wonderful hidden gags and innuendos find. Renfield isn’t just laugh-out-loud funny. He’s laugh out loud funny.
In addition, of course, there is our central toxic relationship of Renfield and Dracula or Hoult and Cage. Both are so great in their crazy rolesthat we as an audience are excited from the first to the last second. As expected, Cage is in perfect insane form. But Hoult easily keeps up and makes the Infernale duo perfect.
Anyone looking for a breath of fresh air in the outdated vampire genre can’t go wrong with Renfield. You can stream the black comedy now on Amazon Prime.
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