We recently headed down into Cardiff again, this time to check out the horror-comedy (or maybe more accurately comedy-horror), Renfield. This has turned out to be a film absolutely packed with hijinx. Importantly, it also doesn’t take itself too seriously, which is always nice to see.
Here you can find our full Renfield review, as well as our common-sense parent’s guide. As well as out standard five-point film review, the common-sense parent’s guide also covers the content within the film. If you are wondering if Renfield is suitable for your kids, read on! We’ve also thrown the trailer down just below, in case you had no clue what to expect from this one.
The Basics – What is Renfield About?
Renfield is the story of Robert Montague Renfield, played by Nicholas Hoult, manservant of the count Dracula. Renfield has spent the past hundred or so years in the employ of the legendary vampire, brought to the screen by Nicholas Cage. As his once-loyal manservant, Renfield has assimilated some of Dracula’s power, allowing him superhuman speed and strength.
This has, indeed, come with a cost. Renfield must obey Dracula’s whims and needs, bringing him victims to feed. He is currently nursing the dark lord (no, not that one) back to health following a disastrous attack by Van-Helsing-esque monster hunters.
Sadly, Renfield has noticed that over the last hundred years, this working relationship has become a little one sided. As a toxic employer (and haven’t we all had those) Dracula constantly demands more, and gives less. Because of this, Renfield has joined a local support group, and the film is (in a way) his journey to reconcile or terminate this codependent relationship.
Renfield is an original concept, brought by Robert Kirkman, creator of The Walking Dead and Invincible. Unlike The Walking Dead, however, Renfield is packed with silly moments, often in the middle of high-impact action sequences. Speaking of action, you’ll find plenty of this in the film, and maybe it would be better described as an action-comedy horror.
Dynamic fight scenes are littered throughout, and are well choreographed if quite over the top. These come with a significant amount of blood and gore, as well as humorous moments. In addition to these, and to Robert Montague Renfield’s story, we also have an intertwined narrative for Officer Rebecca Quincy. We don’t want to give away too much here, but their two narratives come together quite nicely to see Nicholas Hoult and Awkwafina complimenting each other well on screen.
Is Renfield Safe for Children?
Rating: 1 / 5: Adults Only.
Renfield is R Rated by the MPAA, and at 15 by the BBFC. While we might not agree that Renfield fits entirely within the Horror genre, it’s certainly packed with blood and also with some pretty intense moments. There aren’t too many scary moments here. The film has a couple of smaller (and comfortable formulaic) jump scares. While they remain relatively satisfying, you can anticipate these before they happen.
The real star of the show are the blood and prosthetic effects. Nicholas Cage’s Dracula begins the film as a shadow of his former self. This includes some relatively realistic gore effects in itself, with ongoing macabre visions of torn and rendered flesh. Separate to this, the fight scenes are intensely bloody. This includes limb removal, gushes of blood and (as you should expect from Dracula) a lot of feeding and tearing.
There is also a lot of swearing up to, but not including, the “worst offender”. A Significant number of F-bombs and suggestive language throughout. There’s also a lot of drug use and drug references. Overall We would definitely recommend sticking with the 15 age rating. We might even push it up a little in line with the MPAA’s 17 age restrictions, depending on the young person in question (especially if sensitive to blood).
The Run Down – Our Five-Point Rating for Renfield
Plot – 5: If you are expecting a serious horror story, this might not be one for you. However, if you’re looking for a whimsical and action packed comedy, the narrative here does all of the right things. Renfield and Quincy work well together as characters, and the story is nicely paced, avoiding boring moments. There are a number of plot elements that viewers will likely anticipate, but due to the inherent comedic nature these do pay off well, rather than as a cliche.
Visuals – 5: Dracula’s prosthetic effects are really well created, and look delightfully, realistically gory. Blood effects are also well created (if a little too overt to be called “realistic”), which is lucky as they are prominent through the entire film. Computer generated imagery is, for the most part, unnoticable.
Audio – 4: There aren’t any hugely stand out or memorable audio moments, but I do remember the music chosen being good overall. The rock tracks drive the fight scenes well, and are definitely suited to the mode comedic nature of the action.
Performance – 5: A very strong performance from Nicholas Hoult here, who somehow manages to blend 1990s’ Hugh Grant with superhuman vampire-thrall dynamic combat choreography. Awkwafina has also put in a good performance here, with her and Hoult coming together well. Nicholas Cage seems to be on an upward curve, with his Dracula blending old-world traditionalism with an over-the-top edge. Luckily this has come out a lot more “Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” than “Wicker Man bees”.
Rewind – 5: Renfield is one which we’d watch again and again. It’s certainly worth sitting down at least once to watch it properly, and after this it’s going to be a great one to have on when you want to turn your brain off and just watch something entertaining.
The Verdict – Is Renfield Worth It?
Pixel Bandits Bela Lugosi Level for Renfield is an outstanding 9/10. The film is, at its heart, an over-the-top comedic action affair, it still has several nods to original lore and black and white features. It was, for me, an excellent action comedy blend.
Barring the Dracula mythos, I’m rather confused as to why it’s been billed by Universal as a horror. There’s really not much here which fits with your normal horror fare. While Renfield is packed with blood, frequent comedic breaks mean there’s never really any time for intimidation or suspense. As a fan of action over comedy this hasn’t been negative for me, and in fairness the trailer sells the comedic aspect very well.
If you go into Renfield expecting horror or suspense, you’re going to be sorely disappointed. If, however, you sit down looking forward to a bloody dark comedy, packed with action, you’ll absolutely have a good time. Renfield is to Nosferatu what The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is to The Rock. There are glimpses of Dracula’s origins here, but they are overshadowed (in the best way) by the more light hearted aspects of the film.
