One of the greatest characters, both literature and cinema, world renown and universally recognized, is Dracula, Lord of the Vampires. Ever since the 1922 film Nosferatu the character and story of Dracula has appeared in films, books, comics, video games, and television over and over again. Sometimes these renditions are close to the source material. Other times they are radically different. One aspect of the character that hasn't been too readily explored in film is the character's origin. The new film in theaters DRACULA UNTOLD attempts to show us the first chapter in his vampiric life.
SPOILERS AHEAD
The film begins with the impending threat of the Ottoman Empire bearing down on Transylvania. Prince Vlad the Impaler is forced to make a decision for the fate of his kingdom. The Turks demand loyalty from Transylvania and 1,000 of their sons for the empire's troops. And one more, Vlad's own son. His son is prepared to do what is necessary to save the kingdom. Vlad slaughters the Turkish envoy instead of giving up his boy, effectively dooming his people.
Legend of an evil living in the mountains spreads throughout the land, a dark power capable of destroying any man. In desperation Vlad ascends the mountain and finds the cave. There he is offered a chance to save his people by a creature of darkness. This creature is bound by the mountain never to leave until he has passed on his curse. If he will drink of the creature's blood he will gain its power for three days. Along with an insatiable hunger for blood. If he resists feeding he will go back to normal at the end of the three days. Should he feed he will become a creature of the night forever. Vlad accepts.
Single-handedly he takes on the Turkish troop and slaughters them all. But more come and in greater numbers. The Sultan is determined to destroy Vlad and take his kingdom. The days go by and the hunger grows within Vlad. He begins losing himself. By the third day the Ottoman's manage to take his son and kill his wife. What little humanity yet remained within him is gone. Vlad feeds and the final battle begins!
The film is beautifully shot. The scenery and cinematography is fantastic. It's not often I can say this but there are shots I've never seen in a movie before. The fight scenes are badass and the intensity with which actor Luke Evans plays Dracula is amazing. The acting all around is good. And the story is solid. Special effects being what they are today bring Dracula to life in a way he's never been and it is incredible. Charles Dance plays the master vampire in the mountain and he plays the character very well. I have always loved his sci-fi performances from The Golden Child and Alien 3. His acting here is spot on again and memorable.
The only flaws with the film that I have found come from the limitations of a PG-13 rating. There are some quality gore moments but they are quick cuts and lacking in splatter. Simply put, Dracula is about blood. This movie has an exceedingly small amount of it. I'm not saying that each Dracula incarnation needs to be a goregastbord but I've seen more blood on the CW lately. Also the film takes on an epic story and comes across a little truncated. They could have made it a three hour movie easily or better yet a trilogy documenting his succumbing to the thirst. Now that would be incredible to see!
All in all it is worth multiple viewings. I did enjoy the film quite a bit but it left a lot of potential sitting on the table. Luke Evans is a fantastic Dracula and I feel the character is done justice by his performance. Hopefully we'll get an unrated bloodier version on DVD and Blu Ray.
Overall Ranking: 6 out of 10
Nude-O-Meter: 0 out of 10
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