Common Sense Media Review
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Bloody horror comedy starts well but winds up toothless.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 16+?
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Renfield
What's the Story?
In RENFIELD, Renfield (Nicholas Hoult) has been the familiar of Count Dracula (Nicolas Cage) for the better part of a century, tending to his master's needs and bringing him fresh victims. Hiding out in New Orleans, Renfield gets the idea to attend a support group for people in codependent or abusive relationships and then take out the abusers. But these people make Dracula weak, and he demands innocent blood, which makes Renfield uncomfortable. Meanwhile, the Lobo crime family, which owns the police force and runs the city, takes an interest in Renfield after he helps the town's one good cop, Rebecca Quincy (Awkwafina), save a restaurant full of people from an attack by loose cannon son Teddy Lobo (Ben Schwartz). And this gives Dracula a most villainous idea ...
Is It Any Good?
This action/horror comedy starts well, with a good idea and some big laughs, but it soon devolves into an overly familiar mishmash of fights and chases. It's both trying too hard and not trying hard enough. Renfield begins with Renfield's "bright idea" to attend the support group before giving us a little backstory, and morphing actors Hoult and Cage into black-and-white images from the classic Dracula (1931). Their push-and-pull relationship is interesting, and Cage gets to go delightfully over the top in his performance. But for some reason, Renfield has the ability to fight like John Wick, and there are several repetitive, bang-up action scenes with leaping, kicking, and spurting blood. And this brings in the subplot with the Lobo crime family, which really drags things down. It's familiar and dull, and it sucks the energy away from the Dracula-Renfield dynamic, killing most of the humor. Not even an energetic Awkwafina can get in many laughs during this section. Renfield could have been a funnier movie with less action and more character, or it could have been a more exciting movie with more care given to the story -- but, as it is, it's neither.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Renfield's violence. How did it make you feel? Was it exciting? Shocking? What did the movie show or not show to achieve this effect? Why is that important?
What's appealing about vampire stories? Why are these monsters so enduring in pop culture?
How does the movie treat support groups? Does it find them useful? Is it ridiculing them?
Have you ever had the need to stand up to a "monster"? How did it feel?
Movie Details
- In theaters : April 14, 2023
- On DVD or streaming : June 6, 2023
- Cast : Nicolas Cage , Nicholas Hoult , Awkwafina
- Director : Chris McKay
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s) , Asian Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Universal Pictures
- Genre : Comedy
- Topics : Fantasy
- Run time : 93 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : bloody violence, some gore, language throughout and some drug use
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
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