Two things became apparent almost immediately upon arriving at the New Orleans set of Renfield: the Universal horror-comedy would take meticulous measures to pay tribute to cinema’s greatest vampire, and director Chris McKay (The Tomorrow War, LEGO Batman Movie) wouldn’t hold back on the bloodletting for this contemporary take on classic characters.
Screenwriter Ryan Ridley (“Rick and Morty”), working from a story idea by Robert Kirkman (“The Walking Dead”), leaned into splatstick horror-comedy when penning the contemporary-based tale that sees Dracula’s lackey Renfield finally ready to break free from his toxic boss after centuries of servitude.
Ridley tells the select group of journalists on set that he drew from the splatstick greats. He explains, “The darker the violence, the funnier the comedy will be. My inspiration is Sam Raimi, early Peter Jackson, and Return of the Living Dead.”
Screenwriter Ryan Ridley on set of ‘Renfield.’ Photo Credit: Universal Pictures
Meanwhile, Renfield actor Nicholas Hoult gives us an overview of his character within this modern story. He tells us, “In this film, we pick up with Renfield. He’s been working for Dracula for probably around 100 years, or just under 100 years or so. So, the Renfield that we’ve seen in Bram Stoker’s novels and from previous films; he’s been living in his boss’s shadow in this very toxic relationship, in a Devil Wears Prada way for a while. Then through the circumstance of this film, he starts to realize that that’s not what he wanted in life, and he got tricked and trapped into this relationship. He starts to find his voice and capability to ultimately become a hero himself.“
Hoult speaks to us in between takes of a scene that sees Renfield waking up amidst a fight; vampire hunters have invaded Dracula’s rundown, disheveled castle to stake the powerful bloodsucker once and for all. His frantic character races down a long corridor, dodging debris and flames to join the fray.
The actor breaks down this early scene, introducing his Renfield and Nicolas Cage’s Dracula after a cinematic montage establishes the long-running relationship between the characters. Hoult explains, “Chris McKay came up with this really cool idea that’s basically comping Nic and me into the previous Dracula movies via green screen. So, we get a truncated version of their tale and their relationship and story at the beginning of the film through the title sequence; through some of those famous classic moments from the previous films.
“Then, we jump to suddenly them going to sleep, hearing servants shouting, waking up and knowing that something’s wrong, hauling ass down this corridor and then getting to the library room where Dracula is being attacked by Van Helsing and priests and everyone trying to stop him. Right at the beginning of the film, he has to make the decision of whether he’s going to save Dracula. He gets caught in the protection circle; whether he’s going to release and save him and do his job or whether he’s going to listen to what these priests and people are saying to him. You can imagine which one he chooses at that moment.”
In action, Hoult’s frantic reactions in character as he rushes to his master’s side showcase his comedic chops. There’s a hysterical edge to his voice as he works through Renfield’s inner conflict, which Hoult tells us comes partly from Dwight Frye‘s depiction of the character in 1931’s Dracula.
“I think this version of Renfield is probably not as manic in this story,” Hoult says of paying tribute to Frye’s performance. “He’s more worn down by his lifestyle and environment and always having to protect Dracula and how he treats him. But, yeah, the laugh, I’d go back and listen to audio of [Frye]. Also, I have a couple of times taken bits of dialect from the book or from that iteration of the film and tried to weave that into this dialogue. But, again, it’s very different because Ryan Ridley is writing in the more modern tone and voice. So, it’s a modern monster take.”
Production designer Alex Hammond (Donnie Darko, “Sleepy Hollow”) gives us a background on the set piece behind this early establishing scene.
“The idea of it is some unspecified European country, an old European castle; we’re trying to keep it a little vague,” Hammond states. “But it’s falling down. They’ve seen better days. Renfield still managed to drag all the accumulated wealth of Dracula over the centuries with him, but none of it’s in particularly good repair. We’re coming in at the very end of Dracula’s battle with vampire hunters that Renfield has slept through. So, he’s running in at the end of it. You’ll see him running into the end of it. We were originally going to be on a location for this. The reason it’s on stage is some of the effects that we were doing and controllability — flames, fire, blood, explosions — weren’t quite doable in the period building we found.”
But let’s back up for a minute. How did we get here? Producer David Alpert (“The Walking Dead,” “Locke & Key”) walks us through Renfield’s origins and casting.
Alpert reveals, “So the process started with Robert Kirkman, my partner. He had the idea of accessing it in this slightly comedic, horrific way. We brought in Ryan Ridley, a great writer, who’s mostly known at the time for ‘Rick and Morty,’ but he came in with this take and wrote the script. That was amazing. We brought in Chris McKay, and collectively with Chris, we were like, ‘Hey, Nick Hoult’s our guy.’ Then it was like, ‘Okay, who can play Dracula? How do we actually get this?’ Honestly, we went through a lot of different names. You go through similar characteristics, but you also have to have someone who can, through sheer force of will, seemingly dominate someone as physical as Nick Hoult.”
The actor who became Dracula, of course, was Nicolas Cage. Alpert elaborates, “So, it is the idea of having someone that has the career that Nic Cage does, that has the seriousness with which he brings to his work, but also, as we all know, is not afraid to go absolutely over the top if that’s what’s needed. But then the next moment would bring you down back into the reality of the character. It was one of those things where the second he was brought up, everyone was like, ‘Oh, wouldn’t that be insane? That would be insane. That would be awesome. That would never happen.’ We went, and we spoke to him, and he loved the script. Absolutely understood the character; got it instantly. And honestly, he has been amazing to work with. When [Cage] walks on set, the set changes. He comes in, and you’re like, ‘Dracula has entered the building.’ There’s a palpable feeling that happened when he comes in.”
Alpert wasn’t exaggerating about needing someone unafraid to go over the top; this is a monster movie centered around Dracula’s hapless servant who derives power from eating bugs.
Hoult was game to tackle this aspect of Renfield. The actor runs down what it was like to eat bugs, real and not. “Crickets. Did try some potato bugs. They weren’t so yummy,” Hoult warns. “The crickets were kind of nice because they get these dried ones that are flavored somewhat—salt and vinegar, I recommend, which is bizarre. I drew the line at tarantulas and scorpions and stuff. But the props team is amazing. They also created some sweet versions. So, the cockroaches are made of caramel. They look exactly like a cockroach, but it’s just gooey caramel. So, that was nice, rather than having to eat an actual cockroach. The worms were just gummy worms. Then the earth that they were in was just like ground-up chocolate.
Bloody Disgusting can confirm that the caramel cockroaches were both realistic looking and delicious.
Hoult explains why this production made him an expert bug eater, “The concept behind the bug eating, and this obviously tracks back to the idea of him consuming life forces, was what gives him power? So, that’s kind of what gives him the edge when he’s caught in moments of peril. While having to protect Dracula, he eats a bug and gets that extra little bit of juice to be fighting.“
For Chris McKay, Nicholas Hoult was the only choice to play Renfield. The filmmaker elaborates, “When I read Renfield, there was only one actor that came to mind who could play Renfield, and that was Nick Hoult. He’s somebody who is unafraid to be strange and take on challenging roles. Take on being a zombie in Warm Bodies, and do an almost nonverbal performance there, and an almost non-verbal performance in Mad Max: Fury Road. But he’s unafraid to go for it and try. He would be unafraid to eat bugs, and all that other kind of things on camera, and create an interesting, unique character at the same time. What’s also great about Hoult, is that he’s as charming and as likable as a Hugh Grant. And he really is, he can really create somebody who’s got something else going on, that’s kind of above the weird and off the charts. But he also can really turn on the vulnerability and charm, and hook you into this very sympathetic character that we’ve created. I needed somebody who could do that.”
Awkwafina as Rebecca in Renfield, directed by Chris McKay. Photo Credit: Michele K. Short/Universal Pictures
The castle scene observed on set only kicks off the wild journey for Renfield, most of which takes place in New Orleans. This iteration of Renfield will find an unlikely ally, and potential romance, in traffic cop Rebecca, played by Awkwafina. While the actress wasn’t on set during our visit, Bloody Disgusting spoke with Awkwafina by phone to learn more about her character and how she bridged Dracula to the larger supernatural war brewing in New Orleans.
Awkwafina explains, “Rebecca in the story is a New Orleans traffic cop with anger issues. She was demoted because she doggedly pursued justice and crime in a way that was not always the best way. I think that she has a lot of issues coming in. It complicates Renfield’s whole thing, which is that he’s been living with a supernatural overlord in the streets for years. So in that way, their relationship is different.”
The actress surprises us by revealing this was, in a way, a dream role. “I think one thing that honestly drew me to Rebecca is, well, number one, I’ve always wanted to play a traffic cop. I’m not even just saying that; it is real. It felt very at home for some reason in that role,” she explains. “Also, I think that she’s really complex. I’ve never done a horror movie before. I think this was a character that I felt some comedies might not even be able to reach the levels of complexity that the genre offers, especially the script.”
How does a traffic cop get mixed up with Renfield? Rebecca’s arc is tied to the Lobos, a supernatural mob family that dons wolf masks and features the family screw-up Teddy Lobo (Ben Schwartz). Awkwafina teases a personal grudge toward the Lobo family for her character.
“The Lobos are definitely the focal point of her revenge,” the actress shares. “They’re connected to some family drama with her that makes her extremely vengeful, to the point where she can’t think straight. I think it is a larger comment on someone who does want justice, doesn’t want bad people to run a city, and has no power in that way. I think she’s fully aware of it. I think that she’s so disillusioned by it and how disgusting humans are that when she does start to realize that literally a vampire exists in New Orleans, it’s not extremely shocking for her.”
Stay tuned for more from our set visit and look for the brand new Renfield trailer to drop tomorrow, March 22. The film arrives in theaters on April 14, 2023.
Photo Credit: Universal Pictures
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