If it wasn’t for the success of What We Do in the Shadows, most would probably not be that familiar with the role of the familiar in vampire lore.

So to a certain extent the long-suffering Guillermo has done much of the heavy lifting for director Chris McKay’s film, with its now familiar familiar story.

Sitting in on a self help group in New Orleans with those suffering from co-dependent relationship issues is Robert Montague Renfield (Nicholas Hoult). He knows a thing or two about the subject, having a truly demanding boss as he does.

Unfortunately they’ve been together for many years, thousands of them in fact, and Renfield is still yet to break free from his grasp. But there is a good reason for that, seeing that he’s none other than Dracula (Nicolas Cage).

But Renfield is weary of doing his master’s bidding, and all the bloody gore it entails, and most certainly wants out.

And one day his paths crosses that with Rebecca (Awkwafina), an unlikely ally being that she is a cop, but she offers him hope in the possibility of ending his toxic relationship. His master however, has other plans.

Although it appears that McKay’s film is riding on the coattails of What We Do in the Shadows, it’s a project that’s been knocking around for some time now, based on an idea that Robert Kirkman, of The Walking Dead fame, had.

But after the box office failure of 2017’s The Mummy starring Tom Cruise, it’s a project that has found itself in development hell ever since. Until now.

The film’s premise is certainly entertaining, with the two leading stars in Hoult and Cage really relishing the material. And Cage, as always expected, gives his all, with a sublime performance as Dracula, a role that has no doubt been on the actor’s bucket list for some time.

But the deeper you get into the film, it’s painfully obvious what the main problem is: its plot. Sadly it’s just lacking creativity, relying on a wishy washy story involving a crime family. Even the relationship that develops between Renfield and Rebecca feels weak, simply acting as a mechanic to forward the poor plot and nothing else.

It’s a shame as it feels as if McKay was onto to something, with some larger than life characters, with the opportunity to look at this familiar role in a modern setting.

What he does get right however, are the action sequences, which are superbly gruesome, and really are bloody good fun.

If only there was a stronger story, which the premise deserved, as considering the time it took to get here, this effort as it stands, as fun as it is in places, didn’t really need to see the light of day.