Starring: Luke Evans, Sarah Gadon, Dominic Cooper, and Charles Dance
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Runtime: 92 mins. Reviewed in Oct 2014
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This film is an action-horror movie based on the 1897 novel, “Dracula” by Irish novelist, Bram Stoker. The film purports to explore the origin of the Count Dracula legend and borrows from the story of Vlad the Impaler, who is reputed to be the historical figure who inspired Stoker in his writings.
Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia, was an aristocrat in the Romanian court in the fifteenth century. He was dubbed posthumously, Vlad the Impaler. He was a religious crusader and mass murderer, and he tortured his victims cruelly. The name of the vampire Count Dracula in Bram Stoker’s novel is said to be inspired by the name “Dracula” which is what “Vlad the Impaler” was called in his day.
In exploring the origins of Dracula, the Director of the movie (Gary Shore) shows Vlad the Impaler using his skills to protect his kingdom and his family. Luke Evans takes the role of Vlad, who evolved (perhaps) into the mythological Dracula, and Sarah Gadon plays his faithful and loving wife, Mirena.
There are many movies that have been based on the Dracula myth, and many derivatives of the vampire legend have helped to create a vast array of horror movies, some much better than others. None of them has achieved the status of the masterpiece that started them all: the 1922 silent film, “Nosferatu, A Symphony of Horror”, directed by F. W. Murnau. The gothic 1922 film captured exceptionally well the horror, pathos, and tortured conflict of Dracula, created brilliantly by Stoker.
As time has gone on, the drama of the legend caught so well by the silent film, has been taken over by movie-making’s growing addiction to special effects, horror themes, blood-spilling, and action-adventure plots. This film is no exception to the trend. This adventure is action-oriented, darkly intense in its sweep, and the movie is richly textured and costumed. Surprisingly, the real “Vlad the Impaler” was much more horrifying and brutal than the one we see on screen.
In a little bit of history-bending, Prince Vlad makes a pact with the dark forces to do battle with Sultan Mehmed II (Dominic Cooper) who wants to destroy everything in his way. Charles Dance is Caligula, an ancient sorcerer and Master Vampire, who gives Vlad supernatural powers which Vlad uses to protect his kingdom, making him virtually invincible in battle. His powers are a special part of a bargain Vlad strikes with Caligula, but they come at the cost of an insatiable thirst for human blood, which ultimately leads Vlad to his destiny as the famed Count Dracula.The practice of Vlad’s powers is also perfect for the demonstration of special effects which the film amply demonstrates. There are some marvellous scenes of bats, summoned by the dark Prince, honing in for the attack.
The tag-line for this movie (“The world needs a monster”) is an apt one for characterising the movie’s essential action character, and the special effects of the movie concentrate on the action-adventure play of a figure in ways that give a lot of scope for fantasy effects. Vlad has crossed to the other side and drinks blood to sustain the essence of the vampire legend, and the movie shows us a hero going almost alone into battle to defeat the enemy with his supernatural powers. In the movie, as expected, there are lots of battles and fierce sword fighting.
Dracula, by his very nature, is a tortured soul, and in this movie Vlad the Impaler’s love for Mirena is thwarted by his destiny. The film is directed first and foremost as an adventure fantasy, with small doses of horror thrown in to fit with the legend, and not a great deal of bite overall.
Its historical inaccuracies aside, the movie doesn’t take much time out to add extra insight into the conflicted nature of Stoker’s Count Dracula. In an interesting final scene, the movie transports the viewer to a modern-day setting where Vlad meets Mirena standing next to a flower stall in a city street, while Caligula, with coffee cup in hand, says “let the games begin”. That scene seems to hint strongly that a sequel is on its way.
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