Universal’s Dracula comedy Renfield, starring Nicolas Cage as Dracula and Nicholas Hoult as his titular lackey, is set to reach theatres next week, on April 14th, and while the primary draw is the chance to see Cage play Dracula, the movie also includes a couple special treats for fans of the horror genre. Among the cast members are Caroline Williams, best known for playing the heroine Stretch in 1986’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, and William Ragsdale, who previously crossed paths with vampires in 1985’s Fright Night and the 1988 sequel Fright Night Part 2. Williams is playing a character named Vanessa, while Ragsdale takes on the role of Older Priest. Social media images of these ’80s horror icons in their Renfield roles can be seen at the bottom of this article.
Based on a treatment written by The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman, Renfield was directed by Chris McKay (The Tomorrow War) from a screenplay by Ryan Ridley (Rick and Morty). In Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula, R.M. Renfield was an inmate at a lunatic asylum who was thought to be suffering from delusions but actually is a servant of Dracula.
In this film, Renfield has been serving the bloodsucker for centuries, and now he has grown sick and tired of his centuries as Dracula’s lackey. The henchman finds a new lease on life life and maybe even redemption when he falls for feisty, perennially angry traffic cop Rebecca Quincy.
Cage, Hoult, Williams, and Ragsdale are joined in the cast by Awkwafina as traffic cop Rebecca Quincy, Adrian Martinez as her traffic cop partner Chris, Shohreh Aghdashloo as a feared crime lord named Ella, Bess Rous as “people in toxic relationships” support group member Caitlyn, and James Moses Black and Ben Schwartz in unspecified roles.
While Universal is developing several monster projects, they were excited to get Renfield into production first. According to Deadline, the story’s “mix of humor and action was something the studio was looking for because so many of the other properties have more of a horror element to them.”
Kirkman, who has described the film as “a violent comedy”, is producing Renfield with David Alpert, Bryan Furst, and Sean Furst of Skybound Entertainment, alongside McKay’s producing partner Samantha Nisenboim.
Renfield has been rated R for bloody violence, some gore, language throughout, and some drug use.
JoBlo / Arrow in the Head’s own Jessica Dwyer was able to visit the set of Renfield, and you can read her reports at the following links:
Everything We Learned From the Writer, Production Designer, and more!
Nicholas Hoult discusses playing the iconic character
Exclusive Interview with Nicolas Cage about Dracula
Director Chris McKay on his ambitious genre mash-up
Will you be watching Renfield on the big screen later this month? What do you think of Caroline Williams and William Ragsdale being in the cast? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below. I was already looking forward to seeing the movie, but knowing that Williams and Ragsdale are in it makes me even more hyped to check it out.