Castlevania: Nocturne Stakes Its Claim as a Must-Watch Vampire Romp

It’s been a few years since Netflix’s solid spin on Castlevania came to a close, a series that combined the campy gothic setting of its source material with a generally well-rendered cast, but lost much of its punch in later seasons after it wrapped up the conflict with its irreplaceable big bad. Castlevania: Nocturne, a spinoff set during the French Revolution, not only meets the lineage of its predecessor but surpasses it. While it’s just as profanity-laden, gore-soaked, and full of vampiric foes as what came before, it also offers a surprisingly thoughtful take on this subject matter. Through its complex cast and scorching cuts of animation, it delivers an affecting story about exercising the monsters of the past to fight for a brighter future.

We follow Richter Belmont (Edward Bluemel), the latest in a long line of vampire hunters, who finds himself in France after the traumatic loss of a family member. He’s staying with Maria (Pixie Davies) and her mother Tera (Nastassja Kinski), two distant relatives involved in the ongoing political upheaval, as he helps this band fight the nobles (who are also vampires) that have been cast out of Paris. Following an uptick in monster attacks, two Haitian Revolutionaries named Annette (Thuso Mbedu) and Edouard (Sydney James Harcourt) arrive to tell our group the reason why: a great evil called the “Vampire Messiah” is on her way to France to rally the gathering blood-suckers, crush the revolution, and herald the total subjugation of humankind. 

The pairing of a French Revolution backdrop with these undying fanged creatures is a natural one, and the new showrunners Clive Bradley and Kevin Kolde, alongside the rest of the staff, make good on this premise (it should be noted that Netflix rightfully cut ties with the previous series’ lead writer, Warren Ellis, after he was accused of widespread sexual coercion). Vampires have long been used as a symbol for a predatory ruling class, and Nocturne doesn’t miss the chance to entwine moonlit monsters with images of Ancien Régime-fueled decadence. Pasty nobles gorge themselves on the flesh of the peasantry, as stylish gothic framing conveys the depth of their cruelty. It’s all delightfully unsubtle but gains shades of nuance as we learn more about how this archaic social order has harmed our central cast.

Much like the last series, one of this show’s greatest strengths is its ability to deliver affecting drama and complex characters amidst its scuffles with supernatural foes. Richter, with his monster flaying holy whip and Belmont family crest, initially reads as a cartoonish badass, but we quickly find that he’s still haunted by a death in his childhood that leads to actions we wouldn’t normally associate with swashbuckling heroes, granting him compelling internal trials to overcome. The rest of the cast is afforded just as much, if not more, consideration. There’s Maria, a fiery teenage sorcerer who helps organize the local revolutionaries in toppling the monarchy (and the vampires who cozy up to them), as well as her mother, Tera, who is forced to relive former injustices wrought by their adversaries. Maria is a delightful character thanks to her well-delivered arguments about the need for social change and her fun pseudo-sibling bond with Richter. Together, the familial bonds between these three offer a welcome palate cleanser from the carnage.

However, the star of the show is Annette, a freedom fighter and formerly enslaved person who helped overthrow French colonial rule in Saint-Domingue. Her struggles with grief and forced severance from her ancestry are brought to life in aching, sun-drenched flashbacks, and Mbedu’s performance helps sell this emotional range. It is fraught subject matter, but is portrayed with enough empathy and specificity to tie in perfectly with the narrative’s condemnation of evil systems and the ghouls that control them. And it also helps that abstracted animation captures Annette and the rest of these characters’ personal histories in a way that makes their feelings resonate.

When it comes to the bad guys, we get delectably sinister symbols of a parasitic bourgeoisie (like the main villain, Erzsebet Báthory, who’s inspired by a real-life noblewoman/serial killer of the same name) alongside a sliding scale of complicated foes. A good example of the latter is Olrox (Zahn McClarnon), a powerful vampire who wronged one of the protagonists but has an understandable rationale for his previous actions. As for the more unsympathetic enemies, they lay out sickening arguments to rationalize their goals that directly overlap with the thinking of colonial-era racism or conservative fear-mongering, further illustrating why these people enforcing the existing social order must be stopped.

The generally deplorable quality of these baddies makes it all the more cathartic when our heroes slice and dice them in the mesmerizing action sequences. Powerhouse Animation Studios, who are back from its predecessor, do some great work here and sell many of the narrative’s most cathartic turning points, like when Richter’s theme from Rondo of Blood crescendos behind a moment of self-actualization. There is a fluidity and grace to the animation, which is further accentuated by strong storyboarding, as our protagonist’s whip vivisects the frame before snapping through bone or Annette sends spinning blades into the hearts of vampires. 

Unfortunately, there is a major downside to this endeavor: it ends on a back-breaking cliffhanger that provides no closure. Considering this narrative’s many spinning plates, eight episodes likely wouldn’t have been enough to wrap things up in a satisfying fashion, so I understand the impulse to set the stage for another season. Still, the endpoint here is particularly brutal, and considering Netflix’s spurious track record for ordering sequel seasons, it would be horrible if this was the last we saw of this tale.

However, even with this shortcoming, Castlevania: Nocturne dramatically exceeded my expectations. It not only provided the fun action-horror romp I expected, but also used vampire imagery and this specific point in the past to tell an affecting story about fighting against injustice. Its characters were compelling, whether they be complex people facing a seemingly impossible-to-defeat enemy or larger-than-life representations of the dread evoked by near-unchangeable systems. Despite its non-ending, this series eclipses its predecessor to deliver one of the best installments in vampire fiction in some time.

Castlevania: Nocturne premieres Thursday, September 28th on Netflix. 

Elijah Gonzalez is an assistant TV editor for Paste Magazine. In addition to watching the latest anime, he also loves videogames, movies, and creating large lists of media he’ll probably never actually get to. You can follow him on Twitter @eli_gonzalez11.

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