Universal Pictures released the trailer for “Renfield” that is coming out on April 14, 2023. Renfield, played by Nicholas Hoult, tries to escape the toxic relationship with his boss. We see flashbacks of incidents that suggest his boss might not be your typical psychotic boss.
When his boss announces himself at the door, he’s invited in and reveals himself to be Dracula, played by Nicholas Cage.
Most movie trailers I’ve seen over the years have been, “Meh… maybe.” I’m really looking forward to seeing this movie. But will “Renfield” be funnier than “Love at First Bite”?
Renfield (2023)
According to “Dracula” by Bram Stroker, Renfield was a patient at a mental asylum. He believes that eating bugs made him immortal. Everyone else thought Dracula brainwashed him.
In the trailer, Renfield eats bugs to gain supernatural powers granted to him by Dracula. His eyes turn yellow and he takes out armed terrorists with silverware.
What caused Renfield to turn against Dracula after all these years? He falls in love with the security guard, played by Awkafina, triggering his desire for a normal life.
Dracula, of course, won’t allow that to happen.
That sets up “Renfield” to be a romantic comedy movie. The last romantic comedy movie with Dracula and Renfield was “Love at First Bite” in 1979.
Love At First Bite (1979)
“Love At First Bite” is my favorite vampire movie of all time.
The Communists kick out Dracula, played by George Hamilton, and Renfield, played by Arte Johnson, out of Romania. They head off to New York City to find supermodel Cindy Sondheim, played by Susan Saint James. She is Dracula’s reincarnated lost love.
Due to a mistake at the airport, Renfield picks up the wrong coffin. Dracula opens his coffin during a funeral service at a Black church. Nothing scarier than a Black guy coming back to life as a White guy.
The reverend in that scene was Sherman Hemsley from “The Jeffersons” TV series. Isabel Sanford, who plays his wife on “The Jeffersons,” has a cameo as a court judge later in the movie. “The Jeffersons” was my favorite TV show back in the day.
Dracula finds Cindy at a nightclub and they dance the night away. The theatrical release has the disco song, “I Love the Nightlife,” by Alicia Bridges. That song was unavailable for different video formats due to licensing issues over the years. Shout Factory brought out a Blu-Ray version with the restored song.
Dracula discovers that Cindy’s therapist/boyfriend, Dr. Jeffery Rosenberg, played by Richard Benajim, was a Van Helsing. They spend half the movie squabbling like little boys over a toy.
With the boyfriend and the law after them, Dracula and Cindy fly off into the night.
Nicholas Cage is doing the best version of Dracula in the last 100 years.
Keep an eye out on Nicholas Hoult in the remake of the 1922 silent movie, “Nosferatu”. A vampire wants to buy a house in Germany and goes after the real estate agent’s wife. An unofficial adaptation of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” that almost got every copy of the movie destroyed. No date on when this movie will be out.