In the modern era, most massive blockbusters seem to be superhero films. For every successful horror film or smash hit comedy, there’s a never-ending stream of comic book-inspired content to enjoy. This has led some other genres to borrow elements of their presentation. One of the most frequent combinations sees Universal monsters like Dracula, Frankenstein, mummies, and now,Renfieldusing their power for good.
Renfieldis primarily a film about Dracula’s long-suffering assistant struggling to break free of his dark master’s clutches.The trailer depicts hiswork with a therapy group, but he also finds himself in conflict with a group of armed thugs. He dispatches them violently in an action scene straight out of aDeadpoolmovie. It’s an interesting new direction for the character, but a familiar one for monsters in general.
RELATED:Renfield Set Photos Show First Look At Nicolas Cage As Dracula
R. M. Renfield was introduced in Bram Stoker’sDracula. He’s an inmate in an insane asylum who believes in eating living things to gain their power. Heidolizes Dracula and doeswhatever is asked of him in exchange for a never-ending supply of small creatures to eat. He’s convinced that he’ll earn immortality through this deal, but his only real “power” is enhanced strength, seemingly as a result of his mental illness. Renfield turns against Dracula when he meets Mina Harker and decides that he can’t allow his master to have her. Renfield boldly attempts to defy Dracula, but he’s killed in the battle. The film seems to be playing with a similar concept, but Renfield will evidently use his enhanced strength to save others from human and supernatural threats. He’s a hero now, and he shares that title with someother Universal Monster classics.
Universal Studios has been trying to find something to do with all of its monsters for years. The obvious answer camein the form ofThe Invisible Man, but that’s not the direction they want to go with. They evidently want something comparable to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, superheroes and all.Renfieldis an attempt to reboot theDraculafilm franchise that began in 1931. Look no further than the last attempt to do the same, the2014 filmDracula Untold. That film tried to combine Dracula’s pop-cultural power with the history of Vlad the Impaler. It depicted Vlad as a powerful vampire who uses his vampiric superpowers to win the war against the Ottoman Empire. It didn’t work, but it’s in conversation with something likeRenfield.
Films with no connection to Universal also attempt to upgrade horror villains to superhero status.Look toI, Frankenstein. This minor entry came out the same year asDracula Untoldand depicted Frankenstein’s monster as a demon hunter. It was even worse thanDracula Untold. It’s packed with lore and needlessly messy world-building. It’s fairly sad to watch a studio throw name recognition at the wall like this. These examples demonstrate Hollywood’s desperate follow-the-leader approach to big franchises. They’re also not the worst ones out there. That title still clearly goes straight to the Dark Universe.
Universal’s Dark Universe cinematic universe began with the hilariouslydisastrous 2017Mummyreboot. The film started with a weak pastiche of the earlier Brendan Fraser trilogy and ended with Tom Cruise taking the mummy’s power to become a superhero. They even had their own Nick Fury in the form of Russell Crowe’s Henry Jekyll. It’s comical in its ambition. It’s unlikely thatRenfieldwill be that level of embarrassment, mainly because its approach to the genre combination seems to be much more earnest. The concept of monstrous superheroes is much older than these recent film takes.
Many major comic book distributors featured horror series that gradually became superhero stories. Marvel had multiplelines of anthological horror talesthat eventually produced semi-popular monster heroes. Jack Russel was a Werewolf who used his lycanthropy to fight supernatural foes. Simon Garth is a zombie who remains intelligent enough to save people from other undead. Even Marvel’s version of Dracula has played an anti-hero role from time to time. Marvel, in many ways, invented the concept of turning a classic monster into a superhero. This moderately proud history should be the basis for this bizarre subgenre, but most attempts haven’t followed its example.
Renfieldtakes elements of the title character’s story and turns them into the basis of a superhero. Renfield has a bit of name recognition, but not enough to make him an automatic draw. Universal is attempting to reinvent its monster franchise from an angle that we haven’t seen before. By approaching the story from a new perspective, rather than breaking its bones to fit a genre that sells well,Renfieldcould be the vanguard of a new era for the studio. The monsters as superheroes genre have very few positive representatives. They’re all cult hits at the best of times, butRenfieldcould finally give people that love them something worth defending.
MORE:Nicolas Cage Took Inspiration From Malignant For His Portrayal Of Dracula In Renfield
