By: Cynthia Ayala
In 15th-century Transylvania, Vlad III, prince of Wallachia, is known as a just ruler. With his beloved wife, Miren, Vlad has brokered a prolonged period of peace and ensured that his people are protected, especially from the Ottoman Empire. However, when Sultan Mehmed II demands 1,000 of the country’s boys, including Vlad’s son, for his army, Vlad makes a deal with a monster that will enable him to defeat the Turks — but cost him his humanity.
Dracula Untold is written as a precursor to Bram Stoker’s Dracula that decides to take a deeper look into history and go back to the roots of the Dracula mythos.
The film follows Vlad the Impaler as he faces threats from the Ottoman Empire and their invasion. Dracula Untold takes these events and gives them a supernatural aspect, giving depth and honor to the character that has been lost through the ages. This unique film gives Dracula the respect this character deserves, not just for the Vampire mythos but also for the person himself.
This movie makes the right move to focus more on the character. Dracula Untold does not shy away from history, it shows Vlad Dracul III as the leader that he was but with the invasion of the Ottoman Empire, viewers see the lengths that he will go through in order to save his people. There is honor to his character, in who this person is that propels the movie forwards and makes it very fast paced. The film is structured in such a way that it builds the vampire history.
Of course, this is a monster movie and the first good Dracula film since 1979. And yes, that includes Bram Stoker’s Dracula starring Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder and Gary Oldman. This film goes back in time to not only build the character but to make and turn this real person who was known as a Mad King, Vlad the Impaler, into a very sympathetic character. It shows the other side of the coin that history often forgets. He was feared but he was also loved because he took crime so seriously, and this movie does that justice, this movie shows the warrior, the prince and the kindness so deep within his characterization.
Unquestionably, it isn’t just the writer who developed that character but also the cast of characters and Luke Evans himself. The cast works together to build the character up, even the villains in the film.
This was such a fresh new and cohesive film that flowed perfectly from beginning to end and for any fan of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, this film will please them. (★★ ½ out of 5 ☆’s | C+)
Directed by: Gary Shore
Written by: Matt Sazama & Burk Sharpless
Based on Dracula by Bram Stoker
Starring: Luke Evans, Sarah Gadon, Dominic Cooper, Art Parkinson, Charles Dance, Diarmaid Murtagh, Paul Kaye & William Houston
Genre | Rating | Length: Adventure, Horror, Action | PG-13 | 1 hr. 32 min.