SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (The Daily Dish) — Nicolas Cage dawns the cape and fangs in Renfield, but will you Dracu-love it, or will it be down for the count? Patrick Beatty joins The Daily Dish to talk about the weekend watches and what to see or skip.

Renfield

Bosses can suck, especially if they’re a Vampire. Renfield (Nicolas Hoult) has been a ‘familiar’ for Dracula (Nicolas Cage) for ages now, and has come to the realization that he’s in a toxic relationship. He never feels appreciated and is forced to bring victim after victim to someone who just doesn’t seem to appreciate or even notice him for that matter. When Renfield discovers codependency group therapy, he decides it’s time to stop taking orders- and stand up for himself and have a life.

This is a hilarious and honest premise that’s packed inside one of the bloodiest and gleefully horror films I’ve seen in a while- and I loved every minute of it. This is my favorite film of 2023 so far, and if you are a fan of the great Nicolas Cage- you are in for a treat. Not only does he pull from any and all iteration of Dracula and injects his acting sensibility into them, but he looks like he’s having the absolute time of his life as Dracula.

Nicolas Hoult is our lead and holds his own brilliantly against Cage. I think he has great comedic timing- and the action scenes were a sight to behind. Awqwafina and Ben Schwartz were great in their roles and brought a lot of the comedic moments with Dracula and Renfield. The violence in this is hilariously overdone. One punch of Dracula and you may just explode, but it’s done in a way that fits with the tone of the film and is also something fresh and unique- like a John wick Vampire fight.

Overall, this is my watch for the week. Not for kids- but could be a great date night for adults who just want to have a fun time in a Megaplex.

See It or Skip It: See It

Check out my full interview with Renfield director Chris McKay talking about the film and his Dracula inspirations!

Interview w/ Director Chris McKay

Mafia Mamma

Toni Collette stars as a suburban mother Kristin who inherits her grandfather’s Italian “business”. She quickly learns after flying to Italy and meeting Bianca, played by Monica Bellucci, that this business is a front for Italy’s most deadly mafias. Now faced with de-escalating a potential war with their rival mafia, Kristin will need to learn how to be a gangster in this wacky comedy that fails to be a good mafia film or a good comedy.

This feels like a mid-level version of ‘Spy’ starring Melissa McCarthy just swap 007 with The Godfather. I love all of the actors in the film, but this story is all over the place. I’m fine with suspending realism for silliness if the film can handle it- but in this case, the writing holds it back from potentially being a great comedy/thriller.

In the end, this could be a watch on streaming- but no need to rush to the theaters for this one.

See It or Skip It: Skip It

The Pope’s Exorcist

The Pope’s Exorcist follows Gabriele Amorth (Russell Crowe), the Vatican’s leading exorcist, as he investigates the possession of a child and uncovers a conspiracy the Vatican has tried to keep secret. This is based on a real person that has many cases of exorcisms. Much like with the Conjuring franchise- we’re following one of the cases of horror that only works because of how good of an actor Russell Crowe is.

The material is nothing we haven’t seen in other Exorcist movies. The only way they are elevated is with our lead’s performance. The scares feel over-dramatized. As if being possessed by a demon wasn’t suspenseful enough, director Julius Avery decides to “Hollywood-ize” the story and make it all feel too far from reality.

This is also a film that may be good once it’s out on streaming- but with stronger horror films literally a weekend away, I’d keep your money and wait for them.

See It or Skip It: Skip It