RENFIELD ‏★★★

(MA) 93 minutes

No Dracula adaptation would be complete without an appearance from snivelling sidekick R.M. Renfield, who swallows flies for sustenance and looks after the Count’s business in daylight hours. He’s had to wait a long time for his own moment in the sun – but his time has come at last in Chris McKay’s horror-comedy Renfield, where he’s played by the ever-charmless Nicholas Hoult, who may be a tad too youthful but certainly knows how to snivel.

Not that Renfield ever entirely manages to crawl out of his master’s shadow. While Hoult is protagonist and voice-over narrator, the main attraction is Nicolas Cage’s barnstorming performance as Dracula, played mainly for laughs yet indicating careful study of his many predecessors in the role.

We catch up with this demonic duo in present-day New Orleans, where Drac takes refuge in the basement of an abandoned hospital. Weakened by a recent skirmish with vampire hunters, he’s in urgent need of fresh blood, which the downtrodden but loyal Renfield supplies, using his own minor-league vampire powers to target local hoodlums and others who won’t be missed.

Dracula is off-screen for a good portion of the film, but each time he shows up he’s a step closer to full power – allowing Cage to give us one version of the character after another, with help from an equally dedicated make-up team. Starting out as something akin to a sentient compost heap, he morphs into a snarling, leering monster of rage and self-congratulation, showing off not just the regulation fangs but a full set of serrated teeth expressly designed for chewing scenery.

Renfield’s transformation is mainly an inward one, stemming from the gradual realisation he’s trapped in an abusive relationship – though he does eventually start brushing his hair and wearing colourful sweaters in a bid to reinvent himself.

By this point, he has a new potential partner in his sights, a stubbornly virtuous cop (Awkwafina) whose anger issues seem manageable by comparison. Other supporting players who survive long enough to make an impact include a geeky gang boss (Ben Schwartz) who rants like Quentin Tarantino, and his smoky-voiced mother (Shohreh Aghdashloo) who really runs the town.