Radu Jude’s latest film, Dracula, is a provocative and unconventional exploration of the iconic vampire myth, presented in an audacious 170-minute cinematic experience. Unlike traditional Dracula narratives, Jude’s film is structured as a series of 14 interconnected segments that dive into various interpretations of vampirism—historical, social, sexual, and metaphorical—all filtered through an irreverent, politically charged lens. The film is narrated by a fictional filmmaker, a stand-in for Jude himself, who collaborates with AI to create a chaotic collage of stories involving vampires, workers’ strikes, erotic theatre, and bizarre rural folklore, all set against the backdrop of contemporary Romanian society.

The film deliberately resists cohesion and embraces excess, presenting viewers with a confusing yet energetic mosaic that can feel both juvenile and intellectually ambitious. Jude infuses the narrative with heavy doses of crude humor, explicit sexuality, and biting political satire, painting Dracula as a capitalist oppressor who drains the life and resources of others. Yet, the vampire is depicted as equally exploited by capitalist forces such as film production and tourism, particularly the commercialization of Dracula’s legend in modern Romania. Scenes oscillate between slapstick chase sequences, AI-generated vampire animations, and uncomfortable social critiques about class disparity, sexism, and the commodification of culture.

Jude’s approach to Dracula is a maximalist anti-art statement that feels purposefully rough and low-budget, in stark contrast to glossy Hollywood productions. The film mixes styles that range from silent cinema to TikTok videos and deliberately employs a cheap digital aesthetic reflective of today’s viral, disposable content flood. This chaotic style mirrors Jude’s broader critique of how the Dracula myth, and cinema itself, have been exploited, repackaged, and commercialized over the last century. The use of AI as a creative collaborator within the story highlights the tension between artistic originality and the overwhelming abundance of digital replication and kitsch. This layering makes the film a dense, challenging watch that may appeal primarily to fans of underground arthouse cinema and experimental storytelling rather than mainstream audiences.

Despite its unruly nature, Dracula is praised for its fearless experimentation and willingness to examine the vampire myth from multiple angles simultaneously. Jude’s film is an anarchic celebration of vulgarity, excess, and political stridency that blurs boundaries between genres and storytelling modalities. However, it is also criticized for its length, lack of narrative clarity, and the difficulty in sustaining engagement over nearly three hours of relentless provocation. The film’s unpredictable, often absurd content invites viewers to reconsider both the cultural imprint of Dracula and the state of modern visual media, yet it demands patience and openness to cinema that defies conventional storytelling norms.