Nicolas Cage’s artistic renaissance has been wonderful. The famous actor’s return to the big screen has been a long time coming, and his latest movie is another reason we all need more Nic Cage in our lives.

Renfield, a vampire comedy that begins with an almost buddy movie and quickly becomes a full-fledged study in narcissism and codependency, where we see Cage portray arguably the most iconic horror character of all time, Count Dracula, and explore how the vampire exists in modern society through with the aid of his worthless servant, Robert Montague Renfield, played by Nicholas Hoult. The entire narrative of this film revolves around Renfield, who tries to distance himself from his master’s cruel and bloodthirsty ways, but ultimately finds it much more difficult than expected, as Dracula does not take kindly to disobedient family members. In the end, the story manages to intertwine an entire New Orleans crime family, then connect it with a young cop bent on taking that family down, and that’s how Renfield, Dracula, Rebecca Quincy (Awkwafina) and the Lobo family connect. . And yes, unsurprisingly, Renfield struggles to craft a truly compelling narrative in its just over 90 minute runtime because of all those interconnected parts.

But just because the story has its obvious flaws doesn’t mean Renfield is a disaster. The dialogue has some hilarious moments, and the way the story is told provides plenty of opportunities for the actors to seize the comedic moment. The action and fight scenes are also so over the top and ridiculous that it’s hard not to be truly encapsulated by them (watching Renfield impale a man against a wall with another man’s dismembered arm will stick with me in a foreseeable future). But the real star of this film are the moments when Renfield and Dracula are the only protagonists. Hoult and Cage are brilliant in these roles, blending perfectly to create hilarious, gripping, and thrilling scenes that make every other part of the film seem second-rate. And since the rest of Renfield is fine, you really come into this movie just to see the main couple in action.

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At the same time, it’s incredibly refreshing to go see an indie action movie and it’s 90 minutes long. I love Marvel, Star Wars, John Wick, DC, Avatar, James Bond, or Fast and Furious as much as anyone, but those blockbusters come at the expense of smaller projects like Renfield, so the fact that this movie exists and offers great moments and performances are something that should be celebrated in the modern age of cinema.

So, is Renfield going to hit you? No, but is it an ideal film for someone who wants to go to the cinema to spend a few hours without thinking of anything? Without a doubt. She’s goofy, she has some brilliant moments, and above all, she’s funny. What more could you ask for in an hour and a half movie?

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