Even without a certain someone’s involvement, Chris McKay’s horror comedy Renfield had more than enough going on to entice fans of both genres to check it out based on nothing but the potential of the premise.
Originating from an idea by The Walking Dead co-creator Robert Kirkman, Nicholas Hoult stars as Dracula’s loyal familiar, with support coming from proven comic talents Awkwafina and Ben Schwartz. However, in what may well turn out to be the casting masterstroke of the century, Nicolas Cage was cast as the most iconic vampire of all-time.
Naturally, the internet went berserk at the news, and people were thought to have gone genuinely weak at the knees imagining the distinctively unique stylings of the thespian (not actor) and his signature manic Cage Rage being applied to Vlad the Impaler. Well, just you wait until you hear what he’s listed as his inspirations and influences during an interview with the Variety Awards Circuit podcast.
“I looked at Bela Lugosi’s performance, and then I looked at Frank Langella’s performance. I looked at Gary’s performance in uncle’s movie, which I think it’s just so sumptuous. Every frame is a work of art. I want it to pop in a unique way from how we’ve seen it played. So I’m thinking to really focus on the movement of the character. You know, I saw Malignant and I thought what she did with those moves — and even Ringu with Sadako [Yamamura] … I want to look at what we can explore with this movement and voice.
What makes it super fun is that it’s a comedy. And when you get that tone right — comedy and horror — like American Werewolf in London, it’s a blast. It’s got to be a bulls-eye. But that’s what I’m looking for, something new to bring to the character, and also that perfect tone of comedy and horror.”
Nicolas Cage playing a version of Dracula that exists somewhere between Bela Lugosi, Frank Langella and Gary Oldman, with a sprinkling of Ringu, a dash of the gonzo third act from James Wan’s Malignant and a soupcon of An American Werewolf in London sounds absolutely incredible, and we can’t wait to find out what he’s got in store for us.