Here’s how Dracula became biting comedy ‘Renfield.’ It debuts early at a KC film fest

Director Chris McKay knows exactly what can make him panic.

“Not being prepared. I hate the feeling of not being ready for something. So I probably overdo a lot of things in my life,” he says.

That attention to preparation and over-the-top sensibility serve McKay well on his new horror comedy, “Renfield.” It’s a gloriously gory hoot that bestows a fresh vantage point on the prototypical Dracula story.

Speaking from the film’s premiere in New Orleans, McKay talked to The Star recently about the upcoming release of “Renfield,” which will kick off Kansas City’s 11th annual Panic Fest on Thursday at Screenland Armour prior to opening nationwide on Friday.

“Renfield” is told from the perspective of Dracula’s reluctantly loyal servant (Nicholas Hoult), who is compelled to keep his vampiric master (Nicolas Cage) fed and happy. But after centuries of subordination, Renfield decides to free himself, helped by both a noble police officer (Awkwafina) and empowering group therapy.

“I need to get out of a toxic relationship,” Renfield asserts.

And nobody has given a toxic spin on Dracula quite like cinematic cult hero Cage.

“Nic Cage is born to play Dracula,” says McKay, who is best known for directing the blockbusters “The Lego Batman Movie” and “The Tomorrow War.”

“He’s a huge horror movie fan, and one of his first movie memories is watching ‘Nosferatu’ with his father when Nic was 5 years old. That movie is creepy as hell, and I remember being transfixed and disturbed by some of the images, so I can’t imagine how Cage felt at 5 seeing this movie.”

McKay met Cage once previously but had never collaborated with him. It’s hard to believe the script (by Ryan Ridley, based on an original idea by Robert Kirkman) wasn’t written specifically for Cage, who attacks the role with the kind of whacked-out zeal that audiences have come to expect from the Oscar winner.

“My favorite part of working with Cage is his boundless enthusiasm, energy and joy making movies. And it is incredibly contagious,” the director says. “He’s truly an inspiration to work with and just to be around.”

While the movie is a mix between modern character comedy and revisionist horror flick, it is also spectacularly violent. Too violent?

“Did I ever think I went too far? I’m sure that the studio thought I went too far,” says McKay, who is also a producer on the picture.

“Part of what appealed to me about the script was how over-the-top it was, and that’s one of the things that makes our movie different from everything else out there. We did negotiate some things with the studio (Universal Pictures), but when they saw preview audiences go crazy for what we were doing, they became convinced we were on the right track.”

“Renfield” arrives just a couple of weeks after another McKay project, “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves,” which he’d been developing as a directorial project before scheduling priorities led him to step onboard “The Tomorrow War” instead. He still has a “D&D” story credit.

“My pitch for ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ was to make a fun heist movie with colorful characters and set pieces. I wanted it to feel like the feeling you get when you play with your friends. I wanted it to feel loose and a little improv-y,” he says.

The 49-year-old confesses he relentlessly indulged in the role-playing game as a teen in Chicago.

“Other than films and novels by Stephen King, Dungeons and Dragons was the biggest influence on me as a kid growing up,” he says. “I loved it. Still do.”

McKay studied film at Southern Illinois University and Columbia College Chicago. In 2004, he moved to Los Angeles, where he established his creative credentials writing and producing multiple seasons of the animated sketch series “Robot Chicken.”

In 2011, he joined “The Lego Movie” as co-director of animation. The film grossed nearly half a billion dollars at the box office.

“Chris first came on my radar with his work on ‘Robot Chicken,’ which led directly to him helming ‘The Lego Batman Movie’ — which is just about the most fun you can have at the theater,” says Adam Roberts, co-founder of Panic Fest and co-owner of Screenland Armour, which hosts the fest. “He’s great at transforming (intellectual property) we know into new and exciting ways, and ‘Renfield’ is no exception.”

Although his reputation as a filmmaker continues to grow, McKay remains susceptible to an ongoing case of mistaken identity.

“I either get confused with Adam McKay or people think we are brothers,” he says of the fellow director responsible for movies such as “The Big Short” and “Don’t Look Up.”

“On the ‘Lego Batman’ press junket, someone asked me questions about the 2008 bank collapse, and I wish I would have just answered the questions instead of deducing that he thought I was Adam McKay. But Adam McKay is an incredible filmmaker and writer, and I’m lucky to be confused with him.”

In “Renfield,” the titular character gains advice from the book “How to Defend Yourself Against a Narcissist.” What has Chris McKay found to be the best defense for that in Hollywood?

“Honestly, you have to get to a place — like Renfield in our movie — where you don’t give anyone any of your power,” McKay says.

“You’ve got to get to a place where you’re not giving a (expletive) about what people who are operating in ‘bad faith’ think about you or your work. And you’ve got to surround yourself with people who truly support you and help make your work better with constructive critiques.”

Jon Niccum is a filmmaker, freelance writer and author. His new book titled “With Great Power: Leadership, Character and Conflict Beyond the Superhero Multiverse” comes out in September.

Panic Fest

“Renfield” will kick off the annual Panic Fest at 7 p.m. Thursday at Screenland Armour, 408 N. Armour Road in North Kansas City. The horror film festival continues through April 19. Tickets for the full festival are $175 in person, $115 for virtual access and $15 for individual movies. See panicfilmfest.com.