This Is the Perfect Halloween Watch for Gothic Romance Fans (And I Bet You’ve Never Seen It)

Skip to content Add Us On Google Halloween remains one of the most anticipated times of the year. And of course, to get into the spooky spirit on October 31 (or throughout the entire month), plenty of people put together a watchlist. The thing is, even if it includes the classics or a few new releases, it’s always fun to add movies that are a little less obvious, right? The vampire genre, for example, is packed with movies for all kinds of tastes, but one particular style that goes hand in hand with these creatures doesn’t seem to get as much appreciation as it deserves: gothic horror. Maybe you’re already a fan of vampires, but the truth is that more conventional films about them tend to win out in the end. So, I’d like to introduce you to something a little different.

Have you heard of Luc Besson’s Dracula (also known as Dracula: A Love Tale)? And yes, it’s another take on the classic, but it has something fresh to offer; no wonder it struck a chord with audiences, earning an 82% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Released in 2025 (although it didn’t receive a wide theatrical release until the following year), the movie centers on literature’s most famous vampire, but it doesn’t follow the path many people expect from an adaptation of Bram Stoker’s novel. Here, romance plays a central role, and the search for a lost love drives much of the story. So, if you’re into gothic stories, you might want to start thinking about adding this one to your watchlist.

The story of Dracula begins in the 15th century, when Prince Vladimir (Caleb Landry Jones) loses his wife, Elisabeta (Zoë Bleu). Devastated by her death, he renounces God and ends up being cursed to live forever as a vampire. Centuries later, he’s still searching for a way to reunite with the woman he lost. So, when he meets someone who looks just like Elisabeta, Vladimir believes he’s found a second chance to reclaim his past. It might not sound like anything really special, since the movie doesn’t focus as much on the kind of horror we’re used to seeing in vampire features — but that’s what makes it one of the best adaptations of the character. Honestly, I’d rather follow a Dracula with such a deeply personal motivation than watch yet another adaptation that focuses only on his fearsome reputation.

That doesn’t mean the movie leaves behind the danger and bloodshed you’d expect from a classic vampire story either. Plenty of scenes still have that familiar vampire vibe, and the traditional elements are still there. The difference is that Vladimir’s actions are given a more personal motivation, one that’s explored in considerable depth. It’s about the difference between what he believes he’s doing and what his obsession actually represents. Think about it: after centuries of existence, he still hasn’t come to terms with his wife’s death. Instead of finding a way to move on, he turns his search for her into the purpose of this eternal life. It’s romance, but it’s a disturbing kind of romance, and that’s where the horror comes in. He’s driven by selfishness, even though he believes he’s acting out of love, which makes him a much more interesting character than just another seductive vampire.

I’m not going to claim that it’s better than Francis Ford Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula, especially since the two films take very different approaches and Coppola’s version is often considered the most remarkable adaptation of the original novel. But Besson’s Dracula tries to look at the story from a different angle, one that doesn’t always get as much attention: the protagonist’s perspective. In the popular imagination, the vampire is primarily a threat that needs to be defeated, and much of the story revolves around the people trying to stop him. But what happens when we shift the focus away from his pursuers and follow the story through his eyes? Not to justify his actions or turn him into a hero, but to understand what led him to become this monstrous figure. It’s a significant change in perspective, and one I recommend experiencing for yourself.

And sure, Dracula is not 100% perfect, because no movie is. If you look at the reviews, for example, you’ll find that some critics felt the movie didn’t put enough emphasis on suspense, and that’s fair. The tone might not work for everyone either, so you may feel like you’re watching scenes from several different movies — but that’s also part of the experience. The story of Dracula has always been extravagant, theatrical, and melodramatic (you could even call it a little delirious), so you shouldn’t expect something like Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu. That’s not what Besson is going for. His version isn’t really about building a dark vibe or psychological terror, but about embracing the excesses of the legend rather than trying to scare you every step of the way. And there’s a reason for that.

In some interviews, Besson explained the idea came up while he was filming DogMan, when he and Landry Jones started talking about other characters they’d like to explore together. So when the filmmaker revisited Stoker’s novel, he was surprised by just how much romance there was in the story, something he felt had often been pushed into the background in previous adaptations. That got him interested not just in the creature, but in the man who spent centuries trying to reunite with the woman he loved. From there, he decided to tell a tragic love story, one he himself compared to Beauty and the Beast and Romeo and Juliet, only set in a supernatural world.

And the way this movie explores immortality is quite fascinating. Normally, living forever sounds like a power many people would love to have — at least until they stop to consider what it would actually mean. For Vladimir, eternity doesn’t solve anything; he continues to carry the same loss while the world changes around him and everyone else moves on with their lives. His supernatural condition doesn’t make him wiser or help him get over the past; actually, it allows him to prolong an obsession that might have turned out differently if he’d had to face the limits of a human lifespan. And that’s exactly where the film’s romantic premise becomes truly tragic: time, which should have allowed Dracula to leave his pain behind, instead becomes the very thing that keeps him trapped in it.

This isn’t a movie that’s going to appeal to everyone, although most of the audience members who’ve seen it seem to have had a good experience. Still, if you’re into gothic stories, romance, vampires, and obsession, it’s one of the best options to check out now. It didn’t make a huge splash because it wasn’t easy to market and didn’t come across as a major cinematic event, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth a shot, especially if you’re looking for something different from a story that often feels like more of the same. October doesn’t have to be all about films that are made to scare you.

Dracula is available to stream on Paramount+.