Let me tell you Renfield is like 50 percent of the way to being a 9/10 movie for me! This is a bloody, violent dark comedy that made me laugh, smile and say hell yeah on more than one occasion. That sounds really positive, right? Well, let me tell you that the Renfield you see in the trailers is only half of the movie you see when you sit down for the full 90 minutes.
How to Download Renfield
You can expect to be able to download Renfield from Peacock TV around 45 days after its theatrical release (which happened on April 14, 2023). Click on the Download button at the end of this review and check the current availability. If you like stories about vampires, including Dracula, be sure to also check out the TV show Penny Dreadful.
The Movie Review
Ok, so that was kind of confusing, but hear me out. We will start with the good. Renfield stars Nick Cage as Dracula and it is exactly like you would imagine Dracula played by Nic Cage is. It is hilarious, it is over the top and he is just awesome and full-on “Nick Cage” in every regard, the movie 100 percent did not disappoint in this regard.
Then we have Renfield himself who is played by Nicolaus Hoult. Renfield is the assistant or familiar, if you prefer, of Dracula and Hoult is very likable in this role. He manages to be a relatable, sympathetic kind of figure, but at the same time he is a complete badass, well when he eats bugs as this is what gives him his superhero-like powers.
Now, we need to talk about how Renfield is two movies in one. Renfield and Dracula have a very toxic relationship and Renfield wants out. This part of the movie is an absolute slam dunk and it is even more entertaining than the trailers make you think it is. I have seen a ton of movies about toxic relationships, but none are like this. It is funny, dark, and also pretty brutal in places too, oh and there is a ton of blood.
The action scenes in Renfield are epic! They are exciting, fast-paced, and full of gore, crazy stunts, and bodies exploding. It truly is great stuff and I always had a smile on my face when there was a big action scene going down. Even with the crazy and over-the-top antics going on, you do actually care about Renfield as a character.
Now, that is good, next we need to talk about the…. Well, it is not bad, but just so out of place. One half of this movie is about Renfield and Dracula, but then we have another part that is about this cop called Rebecca who is played by Awkwafina who is trying to take down corrupt cops and deal with a crime family!
I actually like Awkwafina and think she is funny and talented and to be fair she is good in this movie. The whole good cop trying to do the right thing, take down criminals and dirty cops is a great idea for a movie. However, it is like a completely separate thing to the Renfield and Dracula stuff that feels like it is linked together with a shoestring to make it work.
It feels very out of place, almost like two scripts were thrown together. I think that they could have kept Rebecca in the movie in a smaller capacity and really doubled down on the Dracula and Renfield stuff and it would have been way more entertaining for it. Again, the cop drama stuff is not bad, just incredibly out of place.
Did I have a good time in the theatre watching Renfield? Yes, I had a blast and if you think that the trailer looks fun, you will have fun watching it, I am sure of that. However, just know that the whole Renfield trying to get away from Dracula is not the full movie! You also have that rather out-of-place (but still good) cop drama mixed in.
