Movies - Renfield : discover the trailer

By Mulder, 05 january 2023

Evil doesn’t span eternity without a little help.

Renfield is an upcoming American action horror-comedy film directed by Chris McKay and written by Ryan Ridley, based on an original pitch by Robert Kirkman. The film is scheduled to be released on April 14, 2023, by Universal Pictures.

In this modern monster tale of Dracula’s loyal servant, Nicholas Hoult (Mad Max: Fury Road, X-Men franchise) stars as Renfield, the tortured aide to history’s most narcissistic boss, Dracula (Oscar winner Nicolas Cage). Renfield is forced to procure his master’s prey and do his every bidding, no matter how debased. But now, after centuries of servitude, Renfield is ready to see if there’s a life outside the shadow of The Prince of Darkness. If only he can figure out how to end his codependency.

Renfield is directed by Chris McKay (The Tomorrow War, The LEGO Batman Movie) from a screenplay by Ryan Ridley (Ghosted series, Rick & Morty series), based on an original idea by The Walking Dead and Invincible creator Robert Kirkman. The film co-stars Awkwafina (The Farewell, Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of Ten Rings), Ben Schwartz (Sonic, The Afterparty) and Adrian Martinez (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Focus). Renfield is produced by Skybound Entertainment partners Robert Kirkman and David Alpert (The Walking Dead, Invincible), co-presidents Bryan Furst (Daybreakers) and Sean Furst (Daybreakers) and by Chris McKay. McKay’s producing partner Samantha Nisenboim (co-producer, The Tomorrow War) will executive produce.

Renfield is based on an original pitch by Robert Kirkman and uses a screenplay by Ryan Ridley. In November 2019, Dexter Fletcher was hired to direct the film for Universal and Skybound Entertainment. The film was described as a comedic approach to the story of Count Dracula in the vein of Taika Waititi's vampire mockumentary What We Do in the Shadows that focused on the character of Renfield. In 2020, Leigh Whannell's The Invisible Man became a commercial and critical success for Universal and served as a relaunch to its monster universe. In April 2021, Chris McKay entered negotiations to direct after Fletcher left to work on a reboot of The Saint for Paramount Pictures. McKay was hired because he reportedly gave a successful pitch combining the story's mix of humor and action, "something the studio was looking to have more of".

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. 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.

Synopsis :
Count Dracula's lackey Renfield finds a new lease on life in modern day New Orleans when he falls in love with Rebecca Quincy, a feisty but perennially aggressive traffic cop.

Renfield
Directed by Chris McKay
Screenplay by Ryan Ridley
Story by Robert Kirkman
Based on Renfield by Bram Stoker
Produced by Robert Kirkman, David Alpert, Bryan Furst, Sean Furst, Chris McKay
Starring Nicholas Hoult, Nicolas Cage, Awkwafina, Ben Schwartz, Adrian Martinez
Cinematography : Mitchell Amundsen
Production company : Skybound Entertainment
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release date : April 14, 2023 (United States), May 31, 2023 (France)