Universal has unveiled the first trailer for Renfield, showcasing a new take on Dracula lore with comedy and violence aplenty.
Directed by Chris McKay, this modern monster tale focuses on Dracula’s (Nicolas Cage) long-suffering servant (Nicholas Hoult).
However, after centuries of service, Renfield falls in love with traffic cop Rebecca Quincy (Awkwafina) in modern-day New Orleans, and decides he’s ready to leave his master, but how will he work up the courage to do so?
Well, in the clip, Renfield resorts to attending a group therapy session as he tries to figure out what to do, exclaiming: “I need to get out of a toxic relationship.”
“Why don’t you start by telling us what brought you here,” the therapist says, to which Renfield responds: “’My boss is… different.”
Viewers are then shown Renfield dragging a body into the vampire’s gory lair, which is covered with blood bags.
We’re also treated to closeups of Dracula’s teeth, before he requests a “handful of nuns” and a “busload of cheerleaders”.
Cage previously said there is a “comedic pop-art attitude” to the film, telling Empire Magazine: “When I got a sense of where McKay wanted to go, I realized the movie has a comedic, pop art attitude. So I thought: ‘This will be a pop-art Dracula.’ Warhol did a great black-on-black Dracula. This is in that Warhol vein.”
However, Renfield won’t lack frightening moments if the trailer is anything to go by.
Producer Robert Kirman previously described the film as “extremely violent comedy”.
“It’s a fun, extremely violent comedy because I’ve got a crutch, and it’s violence,” he said recently during Kevin Smith’s Fatman Beyond podcast.
But when can we expect the film to land and who else will star in the movie? Read on for everything you need to know.
Renfield release date
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The movie is set to land in cinemas on 14th April 2023.
Renfield cast
Alongside the main trio of Hoult, Cage, and Awkwafina, Renfield will also feature Ben Schwartz, Adrian Martinez, Shohreh Aghdashloo (The Expanse), Bess Rouss (Ghostbusters), and James Moses Black among its cast.
Rous will star as a member of the toxic relationship support group called Caitlyn, while Aghdashloo plays Ella, a crime lord in the city.
Cage previously shared the inspiration for his role in January 2022, telling the Los Angeles Times that he drew from the performances of Bela Lugosi’s turn in 1931’s Dracula, Frank Langella’s run in the 1979 film of the same name, and Gary Oldman’s performance in Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
“The key, I think, is movement,” Cage said. “I saw a movie called Malignant and the director James Wan and the actress [Annabelle Wallis] created this choreography that was terrifying. So I’m hoping to do something like that where Dracula can either glide or move like Sadako in Ringu.”
In November 2022, Hoult expanded on this, telling The Hollywood Reporter he can’t wait for audiences to see what Cage has done.
“It’s original, but it’s steeped in a lot of history, Dracula history and folklore,” he said. “It’s exciting, even though it’s a very bizarre, elevated tone for an action-comedy.”
Is there a trailer for Renfield?
Yes, as detailed above, a trailer has landed and it gives fans a first look at the violence and action. Watch below.
Renfield is set to land in cinemas on 14th April 2023. Wondering what to watch on TV? Visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide.
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