Vincent

Bram Stoker’s Dracula has been a cornerstone of popular culture since its 1897 debut. The novel has been adapted directly (or indirectly, under the title Nosferatu) since the silent film era, with an updated version appearing every few years. Beyond film, Dracula has inspired stage plays, operas, and ballets, while the titular character has appeared in so many other fictional works that Stoker’s original creation has been subwhat subsumed by these multi-textual interpretations. Vincent is the latest short film to join this tradition, as filmmaking duo Tyrone Bruinsma and J’Ma update the tale to modern-day Australia, to middling results.

In some respects, Vincent is a faithful adaptation of Dracula, particularly in its approach to storytelling. The novel’s epistolary nature is modernised by presenting the story as a series of vlogs hosted by Ashley (username CutiePie95), played by J’Ma. We meet Ashley right after her first run-in with the mysterious, blue-eyed ‘Vincent’ at her local coffee shop. Immediately enamoured with the stranger, Ashley decides to go on a date with him, and ends up spending an amnestic night at his place. The next morning, Ashley begins to notice some bodily changes.

Vincent’s purpose is immediately made clear through an epigraph about intimate partner homicide, framing itself as a call to action against violence towards women. Although the intertitles are overused, didactically reappearing at the end, J’Ma’s performance sells us on this filmic statement. Ashley’s dawning realisation about what happened that night at Vincent's house is written across J’Ma’s face, as her polished, influencer demeanour fades away to reveal the fear underneath. Unfortunately, the film around J’Ma can’t quite match her weathered intensity.

Almost the entire film is presented through front-facing videos as Ashley narrates to her audience. This lack of visual variety leaves the storytelling stagnant, doing little to build suspense as Ashley’s condition worsens. The abrupt insertion of an American news report from the 1980s is particularly jarring, breaking the film’s contemporary setting and undermining its established rhythm. More than simply a confusing detour, the report highlights the film’s broader lack of polish, from grammatical errors in the intertitles to the uneven editing of the vlogs themselves.

Condensing Dracula into a short film is no easy feat, particularly when trying to translate it into a contemporary setting. Despite Bruinsma and J’Ma’s valiant efforts, Vincent drains the life from a promising premise, with clumsy execution undermining both its horror and its message.