There have been two time periods in which vampires were all the rage in the entertainment world; the turn of the 20th century, and the early 2010s. Indeed, from Dracula to Twilight, one would be forgiven for believing that, as far as vampires go, all creative bases have pretty much been covered by now.
Of course, if anyone is going to challenge that notion, it’s Nicolas Cage, and if anyone is going to do so with a fair shake of success, it’s also Nicolas Cage. Luckily, that just happens to be the latest endeavor the illustrious actor has undertaken thanks to Renfield, the upcoming comedy horror in which the actor will bring his boundless charisma to the role of the storied Count Dracula.
Starring Nicholas Hoult as the eponymous servant of the legendary vampire, Renfield follows the harrowing pursuit of freedom of the title hero, who’s become entirely fed up with his co-dependent partnership with the infamous narcissist Dracula. As he navigates his way around modern-day New Orleans, the new relationships he makes threaten to be sabotaged by the Count’s interference.
It’s a wildly different take on the story, to say the least. In an interview with ScreenRant, Skybound Entertainment CEO David Alpert touched on the creative observations of several vampiric notions that ultimately led to the conception of Renfield.
“There’s been a million Dracula stories, but I guarantee you have never seen this take on Dracula, or the notion that Renfield and Dracula are in a co-dependent relationship and that Dracula’s the ultimate narcissist. It’s one of those things that once you hear it, you’re like, “Ah, of course.” You call somebody a psychic vampire at work. You’re like, “Oh, no, no. He is not only a psychic vampire, he’s the vampire.” You play those dynamics. I don’t think we’ve ever really seen that.”
From what we’ve seen and heard so far, it seems like screenwriter Ryan Ridley and director Chris McKay have struck creative gold with Renfield. Not only did they find the perfect actor to portray this wildly hilarious, unabashedly modern take on history’s most famous vampire in Cage, but the trailer especially indicates that an entire mythology surrounding vampires is up for lampooning, and we can’t wait to see the extent of what it brings to the table.
Renfield will release to theaters on April 14.
