[Review] Dracula Untold (2014)

director: Gary Shore

cast: Luke Evans, Dominic Cooper, Sarah Gadon, Charles Dance, Art Parkinson

Never forget who I am!

I don’t believe at this point there are many twists and gimmicks that can be brought to any ”Dracula” movie, TV series or books. Come on, we’ve had a Dracula in space but Gary Shore decided to create an origin story for the character adding a mix or history with the legacy of Bram Stoker writing. The result…it’s SuperDracula!

“Dracula Untold” has the groove of a Frank Miller graphic novel at first, in fact the opening sequence establishes the fact we’re looking at a potential anti-hero origin tale. The movie then stumbles in setting the mood of the Faustian deal between Vlad (Luke Evans) and the Master Vampire (Charles Dance). You have history, Gary Oldman’s Dracula and a comic book hero blend. Long story short, Vlad The Impaler has to make a choice: give up his son, Ingeras (Art Parkinson) much to his chagrin or keep his family together and face the wrath of his former brother in arms, now Sultan, Mehmed (Dominic Cooper). Every Dracula movie tries to create a new spin on how this legendary character came into existence – from start we can say the movie uses a place, a name and a few details from history and then morphs into the ”how Dracula came into being” – Shore’s approach is through an intricate deal with the devil and a Master Vampire.

A couple of months ago a few websites had the chance to be on set during the filming of ”Dracula Untold” and we got the glimpse of what to expect. Unfortunately, we got the spoilers as well. Who this Master Vampire (Charles Dance) is and the terms of his bargain with Vlad. Now for those who ignore the spoilers and are not affected by them, this piece of information was a piece of the puzzle but for those who wanted to be dazzled by the plot, to see the movie and have everything on a silver platter, might be dissapointing.

Image wise, ”Dracula Untold” captures the atmosphere of ”Underworld” – close to ”Rise of the Lycans” – but stumbles with the script and fleshing out some of the secondary characters. Luke Evans as Vlad is a perfect cast choice. He looks the part, plays the part. You get the warrior, the loving husband and father, his inner demons, his dark past, his uncertain future and the choice he has to make in order to protect his family. The project ”Dracula Untold” started with Sam Worthington a few years ago and thankfully has suffered a change of title from ”Dracula:Year Zero” to ”Dracula Untold” and Evans took over as Vlad The Impaler. Vlad is the main character, this is his story. Here is the trick, we shouldn’t think about it as a historical portrayal. It’s a Dracula origin tale created to offer a new perspective on how Stoker’s vampire came into being. Does it work? The family drama is the common ground for Coppola’s and Shore’s movie as well as the ”love never dies” references. You get a Vlad for whom you feel pity for, you don’t treat Dracula as a regular villain, you understand why he made a choice and the consequences of this choice. The script is focused solely on Evans’ performance, Mirena (Sarah Gadon) struggling be more than a means for the spectator to understand Vlad’s moral dilemma. Art Parkinson as Ingeras aka Vlad and Mirena’s son is delegated to a whimpering child, attached to his mother’s skirts. Dominic Cooper as Mehmed could be seen as a cameo with a dodgy accent who should have needed a few more scenes and a few more details on the intricate relation between him and Vlad during Vlad’s years of servitude in the ranks of the Turkish army. Charles Dance, The Master Vampire or Caligula has fun being delegated to a the role of Nosferatu looking vampire, between him and Vlad existing a Sire and fledling type of relation. If ”Dracula Untold” has succes box office wise we may get to see a sequel – with Universal’s wish of establishing a Monster Universe franchise in the next years.

The problems of ”Dracula Untold” come from the inconsistencies of the script and the poor job of giving more flesh to the secondary characters but the movie is desired to be an entertaining blockbuster not a historical piece. Luke Evans shines as Dracula with Dance looming in the shadows and muttering a delicious ”let the games begin” setting in motion a desired follow up for this origin tale. It’s not Dracula the vampire, the villain, it’s SuperDracula, the anti-hero, the man who had to make a deal and live with the consequences. When it’s good this movie offers an entertaining ride, when it’s bad it makes you grit your teeth and ask yourself why some aspects haven’t been reworked and improved. You want to be entertained, you want to enjoy Luke Evans take on Dracula? This is the movie to see but don’t expect too much from it.

”Dracula Untold” was seen during the opening night of “Dracula Film Festival”

Edge and Back:7/10