Horror fans may be growing weary of the serious tone in Dracula reboots these days, which is why Nicolas Cage’s latest comedy might be a breath of fresh air outside the stuffy coffin and we explain who the titular Renfield is in the source material.
Directed by Chris McKay helming a screenplay by Ryan Ridley, and based on an original concept by The Walking Dead’s Robert Kirkman, Renfield is a horror comedy movie following Dracula’s titular right-hand man, who ends up falling in love with a traffic cop on the streets of New Orleans.
Kirkman’s original pitch to Universal and Skybound was designed to echo the tone of Taika Waititi’s series, What We Do in the Shadows.
Who is Renfield? How Does He Connect to Dracula’s Lore?
R.M. Renfield was first introduced as a fictional character in Bram Stoker’s original 1897 Gothic horror novel, Dracula.
The character was described as Dracula’s deranged servant, who would gladly and loyally do the Count’s bidding.
Renfield would frequently eat insects as his sanity diminished and Dracula supplied him with a constant stash in exchange for helping him turn Mina Harker into a vampire.
The fanatical aid would reside in a nearby asylum, where he was treated for his condition by Dr. John Seward.
A description of Renfield in Stoker’s novel, from the perspective and journal of Dr. Stewart, is as follows:
“R. M. Renfield, aetat 59. Sanguine temperament, great physical strength, morbidly excitable, periods of gloom, ending in some fixed idea which I cannot make out. I presume that the sanguine temperament itself and the disturbing influence end in a mentally-accomplished finish, a possibly dangerous man, probably dangerous if unselfish. In selfish men, caution is as secure an armour for their foes as for themselves. What I think of on this point is, when self is the fixed point the centripetal force is balanced with the centrifugal. When duty, a cause, etc., is the fixed point, the latter force is paramount, and only accident or a series of accidents can balance it.”
Meet the Cast of Renfield
Two Hollywood stars with the same first name are meeting on the frontline in Renfield, with Nicholas Hoult playing the titular servant and Nicolas Cage on board as the infamous Count Dracula.
The leads are joined by Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’, Awkwafina, who will play Renfield’s love interest, Rebecca.
Below, we have included the full cast list of Renfield:
- Nicholas Hoult – R. M. Renfield
- Nicolas Cage – Count Dracula
- Awkwafina – Rebecca Quincy
- Ben Schwartz – Teddy Lobo
- Adrian Martinez – Chris Marcos
- Shohreh Aghdashloo – Ella
- Bess Rous – Caitlyn
- James Moses Black – Captain J. Browning
- Caroline Williams – Vanessa
- Brandon Scott Jones – Markr
By Jo Craig – [email protected]
Renfield is scheduled to release in theatres on April 14, 2023
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