Review of RENFIELD: Cult of Co-dependency

April 25, 2023

Count Dracula (Nicolas Cage) conscripted the services of lawyer R.M. Renfield (Nicholas Hoult) to be his assistant in luring victims for him to feed on. In return, Dracula conjured that Renfield be immortal and was able to gain explosive super-strength whenever he ate a bug. After countless years of indentured abusive servitude, Renfield wanted out and joined a support group for people in co-dependent relationships.

Renfield met New Orleans policewoman Rebecca Quincy (Awkwafina) who was frustrated for being stuck with thankless traffic beats. She would rather get involved in important crimes like the drug crime family of the Lobos, led by Teddy Lobo (Ben Schwartz) and his mother Bellafrancesca (Shohreh Aghdashloo). As Renfield and Rebecca get together to nab the Lobos, the Lobos sought an alliance with Count Dracula himself. 

Having played a zombie in "Warm Bodies" (2013), it was not new for Nicholas Hoult to play a character who was a living dead. The droll way he played Renfield, we will sympathize with his wanting to get out of his miserable afterlife. Having Awkwafina as his love interest here was an out-of-the-box casting choice, it actually worked very well. From her beginnings as a rapper and comedian, Awkwafina continues to expand her range and she is doing well. 

Nicolas Cage may not have as much screen time as his fans would want. However, he chewed up all his scenes as the legendary Count Dracula. We all know Cage was always wont to overact and as hammy as he was here, his fans will love him in this role. It was good to see classy Iranian-American actress Shohreh Aghdashloo in a fun role, 20 years since her Academy Award nomination for Vadim Perelman's "House of Sand and Fog" (2003).

The whole premise of this quirky film was quite original and outrageous, so if you get into its weird drift, you will find it darkly entertaining and fun. The blood and gore factor is cartoonishly high as human bodies literally blow up into bloody blobs of limbs and flesh when super-Renfield wielded his powerful punch on them. Dealing with the psychological issues about co-dependent relationships was a novel touch for a horror-comedy film. 7/10.