Before we get into the plot of “Renfield,” if you’re a fan of Nicolas Cage or Nicholas Hoult, you should definitely watch this movie. Both actors give great performances. Additionally, Awkwafina is a highlight, and her comic timing is always impeccable, making this movie super fun and exciting. Ben Schwartz as Teddy Lobo is also super fun and adds an element of annoyance to the film that makes it more comedic than expected. The last time we saw Nicholas Hoult was when he played a pretentious prick in “The Menu,” but he has a very endearing quality even at 6 feet 3 inches, making him super believable as the melancholic but strong servant of Dracula, Renfield. The movie has a lot of blood spatter, and one particular scene will shock you for its sheer absurdity.
Spoilers Ahead
Plot Synopsis: What Happens In ‘Renfield’?
Count Dracula has taken under his wing a familiar, aka servant named Richard Montague Renfield. The film begins with Renfield in a rather gloomy state as he finds himself attending a support group for people in toxic relationships. You see, Renfield is tired of being treated as a servant and doing morally wrong things (wow, that took him a long time). He used to be a lawyer way back when with a family, but after being manipulated by the prince of Wallachia himself, Richard found himself attracted by the idea of being strong and being taken care of by Count Dracula. Soon he realized he was just there to clean up Dracula’s mess every time a church came to get him.
After moving to many cities, Renfield wants to settle. As other people in the support group talk about how they faced their abusive partners, Renfield finds himself closer to facing Dracula too. But in the meanwhile, he uses the information shared by the members to bring Dracula some not-so-innocent people (although that is not what he asks for). He takes it upon himself to get justice for the members by giving their partners up as food for Dracula.
Rebecca And Renfield’s Will To Change
While following one of these men who had abused one of Renfield’s fellow members, he comes across the scariest crime family in the city. The son of Lobo is also looking for the same guy as Renfield. He stole some of his cocaine, or maybe lots of it. After killing all three men who had stolen the cocaine, Renfield finds himself facing Lobo’s assassin. He eats some bugs (what blood and flesh are for Dracula, bugs are for his servant) and fights off the assassin, punching him so hard his face flies out of the room and hits the window of Teddy Lobo’s car. Lobo drives away in fear and ends up at a checkpoint where Officer Rebecca happens to be. Rebecca’s father, who was also an officer of the law, was killed by the Lobo family, and Rebecca just looks for an excuse to catch the Lobos. This is her perfect excuse, as he is in possession of drugs and assaults her and her colleague.
Rebecca is always thrown under the bus by her colleagues and higher-ups, though, because the Lobo family is untouchable because of their power. After Teddy is left free, even though he confessed to basically murdering a dozen people, Rebecca heads to the crime scene where the assassin was beheaded so that she can find some proof to connect it with Teddy and the Lobo’s. She finds a pen that was used by Renfield to kill one of the men instead. She hands it over to her sister, an FBI agent with whom she has a difficult relationship. They both miss their father but have different ways of dealing with it. It is clear, though, that there is still a lot of love between them. She’s the only one she can trust with this evidence.
Rebecca X Renfield
Rebecca, in the meantime, visits the restaurant where the pen was for more evidence. Renfield is there, too, after being beaten up by Dracula for not bringing him innocent tourist couples, a bus load of cheerleaders, and some nuns, all of whom are now present in front of Renfield. While he figures out how to get out of this situation, Rebecca arrives at the restaurant. Teddy does too, and he points a gun at Rebecca’s head as everyone else hides under the tables.
Rebecca looks Teddy in the eyes and tells him to shoot her. Her strength and confidence inspire Renfield immediately, and he finds a bug to strengthen him. After a lot of fighting, Renfield helps Rebecca defeat Lobo’s team. Rebecca calls Renfield a hero, and he finally sees his own potential, deciding to find a home for himself and change up his look with the help of the members of the support group (who all think Renfield’s boss is just narcissistic). He finally finds a way to break the codependency he has with Dracula. He will grow to full power, not Dracula. Unfortunately for Renfield, Dracula is able to gain his full strength without his familiar’s help, and now he’s coming after Renfield for denying him. Who will win the battle, the master or the servant?
Terror Unleashed
Dracula tells Renfield that he will destroy everything he loves and figures out about the support group through the book Renfield is reading affirmations from. Renfield rushes to the gym where the support group is and tries to convince the members that they need to run from there. Unfortunately, he isn’t able to convince them, and the counselor manages to “invite” Dracula into the room, too (if he weren’t welcomed, he couldn’t walk in).
Will Rebecca Believe In Renfield Again?
After Dracula slaughters the entire room while Renfield gets flung across the room in slow motion, Rebecca comes to the crime scene to find Renfield, the prime suspect. She takes him into custody, and as they are about to head to prison, the entire police force appears to tell her to hand over Renfield to the Lobos. If we rewind a little bit, Teddy goes to find Renfield in order to take revenge for all the people he killed from Teddy’s team. There he met Dracula, who now wants world domination and an army of the undead for himself. So, he’s been missing, and his mother, the matriarch of the family, is in search of him. Rebecca is quick to act and manages to escape with Renfield, where they hide out in his apartment.
Lobos X Dracula
In the meantime, Teddy returns home with Dracula in his coffin. There’s some strange sexual tension between Dracula and Teddy’s mother, which means they are quickly on the same side. In the meanwhile, Rebecca and Renfield have some time alone, and he tells her about his journey with Dracula. She doesn’t forgive him, but she admits that he may not be a villain after all. Possibly hinting he’s not a hero either, but something in between. An ordinary human? They decide to leave, but by then, the police and Lobo team have arrived to get them. Renfield finds his neighbor’s ant farm and dunks it asap. The mother calls him a bad man, and Renfield, coming to his own, admits that sometimes that’s handy. He proceeds to then grotesquely murder anyone who comes in the way, splitting a man’s arms from his body and then using them as katanas to save Rebecca (I wonder how this scene was written down on paper). Finally, after all the fighting, they escape to meet Rebecca’s sister. Rebecca calls Kate, and it is Mrs. Lobo who picks up the phone. At the same time, Dracula does the telecommunication thing, and Renfield, too, knows that the Lobos are working with Dracula. Rebecca decides to head back to the Lobos home to save her sister Kate. She convinces Renfield by telling him that she sees some potential in him to do some good. Her accepting him for who he is is enough reason for him to face Dracula with confidence.
‘Renfield’ Ending Explained: The Final Battle
Rebecca and Renfield are faced with a bunch of fellow familiars who also have the power Renfield has, including Teddy. They have a huge battle, and Renfield continues to fight with Teddy as Rebecca goes ahead to find her sister, but her sister is already dead. The Count has an offer for Rebecca: if she agrees to join him in his world-domination dreams, to create a just world, he will bring Kate back to life. Rebecca pretends to agree but pulls down the blinders of the room, betraying Dracula. He manages to escape by becoming a colony of bats. Rebecca tries to fight Dracula, and he lifts her into the air. In an Aria Stark moment, she shoots him in the foot, which brings Renfield back to strength after being knocked unconscious. Renfield manages to get out of the abusive relationship by using the affirmations of the support group and tries desperately to punch down the Count. Of course, he’s not actually powerful enough to kill an immortal being who drinks blood to live.
In a team effort involving Tumblr and some cocaine, Rebecca, and Renfield are able to create a protection circle. Dracula is finally in their hands. They use all the weapons available to them in the room, which is a lot considering it is Lobo’s lair. They finally chop up Dracula into small pieces, embossing him into cement, and get rid of him for good. Before doing so, they manage to save his blood and bring Rebecca’s sister and the support group back to life. Renfield is free, and Dracula is gone, or is he? The camera lingers a bit too long on the bottle of Dracula’s blood, hinting at a return. But that’s just speculation from our end.
“Renfield” is a 2023 horror comedy film directed by Chris McKay.
