Renfield movie storyline. Present-day New Orleans. Trapped in a toxic relationship for centuries, fanatically committed Renfield, Count Dracula’s conflicted assistant, suddenly wants out. However, this is easier said than done–no one walks away from darkness and lives to tell the tale. Above all else, the long-suffering servant wants more out of life, and nothing can stop him. After all, nobody wants to be a villain. But evil is cunning, indefatigable, eternal. Poor Renfield, what have you got yourself into?
Renfield is a 2023 American action comedy horror film directed and produced by Chris McKay, and written by Ryan Ridley from a story by Robert Kirkman, who also served as producer. Inspired by characters from the 1897 novel Dracula by Bram Stoker, the film stars Nicholas Hoult, Awkwafina, Ben Schwartz, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Brandon Scott Jones, Adrian Martinez, and Nicolas Cage.
The film tells a story of the character Renfield in the classic monster universe, but the film entered development hell after the commercial failure of The Mummy (2017). Kirkman later pitched a new version of the film to the studio, leaning more into the comedic aspects of the story, and the production rights were acquired by Skybound Entertainment. Dexter Fletcher was originally announced as director in 2019, but McKay eventually replaced him, working off the Ridley script and Kirkman’s original pitch. Much of the cast joined between August 2021 to January 2022, and filming took place from February to August 2022, on a production budget of $65 million.
Renfield had its world premiere at the Overlook Film Festival on March 30, 2023, and was released in the United States on April 14, 2023, by Universal Pictures. The film received mixed to positive reviews from critics, who praised the comedic tone and performances but criticized the screenplay and story. It has grossed $26 million worldwide.
Filming began in New Orleans on February 3, 2022, with Mitchell Amundsen serving as cinematographer. On February 8, more than twenty vehicles belonging to the production crew were burglarized.[37] One security guard was present at the time of the incident, which occurred late at night in a secured parking lot. Crew member Elmo Peoples said the vandals had stolen his insurance papers, two bank cards, and a laptop.
He added, “I’m supposed to be here all week and I don’t even want to come back because I feel like they don’t really care about us as much as the main characters or actors.” Love Bugs Film LLC reassured the production crew that they would hire additional security. Filming wrapped on April 14, 2022, exactly one year prior to the film’s scheduled release.
The film’s black-and-white opening scenes recreate the events of Dracula (1931) with Nicolas Cage and Nicholas Hoult respectively inserted in place of Bela Lugosi and Dwight Frye as Count Dracula and Renfield (“compositing the actors into the old backgrounds — we’re just erasing [the original actors] and putting Cage and Hoult in”), with Helen Chandler and Edward Van Sloan appearing as Mina Seward and Van Helsing via archive footage. Zene Baker, Ryan Folse and Giancarlo Ganziano served as editors.
Renfield (2023)
Directed by: Chris McKay
Starring: Nicholas Hoult, Awkwafina, Ben Schwartz, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Brandon Scott Jones, Adrian Martinez, Nicolas Cage, Chloe Adona, Caroline Williams, Camille Chen, Jenna Kanell
Screenplay by: Ryan Ridley
Production Design by: Julie Berghoff, Alec Hammond
Cinematography by: Mitchell Amundsen
Film Editing by: Zene Baker, Ryan Folsey, Giancarlo Ganziano
Costume Design by: Lisa Lovaas
Set Decoration by: Gretchen Gattuso, Cynthia Anne Slagter
Art Direction by: Chris Craine
Music by: Marco Beltrami
MPAA Rating: R for bloody violence, some gore, language throughout and some.
Distributed by: Universal Pictures
Release Date: March 30, 2023 (Overlook Film Festival), April 14, 2023 (United States)
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