“Renfield,” directed by Chris McKay (“The Lego Movie,” “The Lego Batman Movie”), follows henchman Renfield (Nicholas Hoult) who works for Count Dracula (Nicolas Cage) as he explores his toxic relationship with his master who keeps him alive purely to feed his hunger for people and power throughout multiple decades.

The movie, while delving into horror elements and gory visuals, clearly aims to be an action movie more than anything else. It attempts to simultaneously please gore hounds, casual horror fans and action diehards while failing to fully achieve any of these goals. The film portrays gore through a mix of practical effects and CGI, which leaves audiences feeling similar mixed emotions toward the flick. Horror references only take place at the very beginning of the movie and slowly trickle out to favor a more action-focused storyline up until the final sequences in which horror and action meet together in harmony. However, no amount of campiness can hide the fact that “Renfield” lacks a consistent tone.

The script written by Ryan Ridley (“Rick and Morty,” “The Wastelander”) and Robert Kirkman (“Invincible,” “The Walking Dead”) sets up an intriguing premise, but leaves much to be desired. Its biggest issues lie in the pacing, dialogue and comedy. With a brisk 93-minute runtime, the script moves far too quickly from event to event. In one scene, a cop releases a detained criminal, only to confront her never-before-seen sister immediately after.The script moves through events at a pace too quick for viewers to enjoy the plot. On top of that, the dialogue feels unnatural. Every character seems to be fighting to deliver a one-liner during every scene. Even then, their quips only land half the time, leaving the other half to be lifeless attempts at half-hearted catchphrases.

Despite its many shortcomings, the film’s true enjoyment comes from its dedicated actors. Each and every performer, from Cage, to Hoult to Jenna Kanell (“Terrifier,” “The Bye Bye Man”) — who will get the most audible laughs out of audiences — oozes care and expertise. Every actor in “Renfield” transforms a rough script into an enjoyable flick for audiences everywhere. Cage does his usual Cage-isms, Hoult plays Renfield with massive amounts of charm, Awkwafina (“Ocean’s Eight,” “Crazy Rich Asians”) sells the story’s themes of heroism and Ben Schwartz (“Sonic the Hedgehog,” “Parks and Recreation”) chews up the scenery as always.

“Renfield” suffers from a messy script and temperamental tone, but benefits from its actors committing to the film’s campiness, alongside decent action and gore. Seeing “Renfield” in theaters will be a worthwhile experience as it remains entertaining throughout its runtime, and it will leave audiences clambering for Cage to play Dracula again, hopefully not in a “Vampire’s Kiss” remake.