Renfield

What’s it about?

After being trapped for decades in a toxic relationship with narcissist Count Dracula (Nicholas Cage), Robert Montague Renfield (Nicholas Hoult) attempts to take back his power.

With the help of a relationship support group and a determined cop (Awkwafina), Renfield takes on a crime family and his all-powerful master.

The facts

• Directed by Chris McKay (The Lego Batman Movie)
• Written and produced by Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead)
• English language
• Runtime: 93 minutes
• Based on characters from Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula.

Why did it get this rating?

Graphic violence and gore

The film is filled to the brim with graphic and bloody violence, as well as gore. There are many exaggerated fights and gun violence. Blood, dismembered body parts, decapitations and substances such as brain matter and guts are shown throughout. We see bodies burst, catch on fire and split apart, creating very detailed bloody injuries.

Some examples include:

• During a fight scene a character rips off someone’s arms and then throws them like spears, impaling two other characters.
• A character jumps on another, splitting their body in half.
• Dracula enters the body of a victim, making his body explode.
• A character decapitates people with serving plates.

The imagery is so exaggerated and detailed that some viewers might find it unrealistic, while others might find it very gruesome, making them feel squeamish. The comedic nature of the film and sweetness of Renfield’s character balances the violence and storyline, which might make it easier to watch for those unsure about this level of gore.

Offensive language

Words like “f**k”, “motherf**ker” and “b**ch” are used throughout the film. This language is used casually and aggressively, and mainly by the crime family members.

Horror

The film is more gory, violent and comedic rather than scary. However, Dracula is an iconic character in the horror genre and looks very ghoulish. Some viewers might have found past films and portrayals of him scary, which could impact their experience watching Renfield.

A member of our Youth Advisory Panel attended the film as part of the classification and rating process. They felt that the gore was supposed to be over-the-top and said that the violence was “incredibly creative”. They agreed with the age rating of 16 and content warning of graphic violence, gore and offensive language, and were especially supportive of including “gore” in the note.

Further information

• Nicolas Cage is the perfect Dracula in wild new trailer for Renfield – Stuff
• Why are ratings and content warnings important for me and my whānau?
• Streaming platforms, R-ratings and tricky conversations