DRACULA UNTOLD (2014 - HORROR / ACTION / DRACULA FLICK) **** out of ***** OR 8 out of 10
(Dracula: GLADIATOR-style...)
CAST: Luke Evans, Sarah Gadon, Dominic Cooper, Charles Dance, Art Parkinson, Noah Huntley, Paul Kaye, Ferdinand Kingsley, Diarmaid Murtaugh, William Houston.
DIRECTOR: Gary Shore
(WARNING: Some SPOILERS and compelling reasons to turn to the dark side - straight ahead)
IT'S LIKE THIS: You'd have to search far and wide to find another literary figure portrayed so many different times and in so many different ways in the movies than Count Dracula.
First, we had the creepy silent versions with Bela Lugosi. Then, there were the scary Hammer versions in the 1950s starring Christopher Lee. Then there were the batshit-crazy EuroHorror versions starring Udo Kier in the 1970s. Then there were the romantic ones with Jack Palance and Frank Langella, also from the 70s. Then there was the tony "la-di-da" Oscar-bait version by Francis Ford Coppola in 1991. Eventually, as the 90s wore on, the Count became the butt of jokes and was played by Leslie Nielsen, the lovable doofus from the AIRPLANE and NAKED GUN series, in DRACULA: DEAD AND LOVING IT. Talk about the final nail in the coffin, huh?
Fortunately, the Count's staying power proved, uh, powerful and the turn of the Millenium saw him return in DRACULA 2000, with luscious Gerard Butler donning the cape (or in this case, the trenchcoat) in a modern-day New Orleans. Then, sadly, TWILIGHT happened, and the Count was eclipsed by brooding, sparkly, emo vampires from the Pacific Northwest. Actually, the TWILIGHT series just might have been a bigger final nail in the coffin than DRACULA: DEAD AND LOVING IT. Then, to make matters worse, my beloved Dario Argento released in 2012 what is likely one of his worst films, DRACULA 3-D, in which Dracula morphs into - shitting you, I am not - a giant preying mantis. What the fuck, Dario? You're killing me here. Killing me. And Dracula, too.
Well, the TWILIGHT emo-vampire flicks and Dario's clusterfuck version notwithstanding, it appears that The Original Bloodsucker may still have some life in him yet. Our next "31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN" review is DRACULA UNTOLD, which just came out this weekend, and it purports to tell us an "origin" story of how Count Drac eventually became the bad-ass revenant that he is. Apparently, his real name is Vlad Tepes and he looks a hell of a lot like Luke Evans - which means he's smokin' hot, yo...
Vlad is the Prince of Transylvania, and has just returned from fighting a war for the Turkish Empire. He was basically recruited as a child warrior and was trained to be ruthless and vicious against the enemy. Unfortunately, Vlad did this too well and soon became know as "Vlad The Impaler" because of his penchant for impaling enemy prisoners and leaving the suspended corpses to strike fear in the hearts of the survivors. Hey, man... whatever works. All's fair in love and war.
But that's all in the past, and now Vlad has come home to Transylvania to start over with beautiful wife, Mirena (Sarah Gadon) and dutiful son, Ingarus (Art Parkinson). Unfortunately, Transylvania is still a Turkish territory still subject to Turkish incursions. Sure enough, Vlad and his soldiers led by the hunky Captain Petru (Noah Huntley) discover the remains of some Turkish soldiers who strayed too close to a cursed place called "Broken Tooth Mountain." It gets even worse when Vlad and two soldiers discover even more Turkish remains in a cave on the mountain.
Then something attacks them - killing Vlad's two scouts and almost killing him, too. Later, Vlad asks one of his scholars back at his castle what that thing in the cave was. He is told that it is a "vampire" - a creature of the night that has strong and terrifying powers, but cannot leave the cave because of a curse. Well, thank goodness, right? I mean, did you see those bodies piled up in there?
Anyhow, the blissful peace in Transylvania is apparently not meant to last, because the Turkish army comes looking for its missing scouting party - and suspects that Vlad had something to do with their disappearance - because of his sadistic past. Of course, we know better: it was that "thing" in the cave. Just to be spiteful, the leader of the new Turkish scouting party, Hamza Bey (Ferdinand Kingsley) tells Vlad that the Turkish King, Mehmed (Dominic Cooper), has commanded that 1,000 Transylvanian boys be conscripted into the Turkish army to fight even more wars.
Concerned that his son Ingarus will be taken against his will just like every other boy in Transylvania, Vlad wracks his brain to find a way to protect his kingdom from the tyranny of Mehmed. Desperate, he remembers that "vampire thing" in the cave and risks his life to return and ask it for help. The Master Vampire (Charles Dance) is intrigued with this jackass that survived his cave once, but has now returned of his own free will. That clearly doesn't happen every day.
Sure enough, Vlad asks the Master Vampire what he can do to protect his kingdom. MV tells Vlad that he can help him - but it will come at a price. Basically, MV says, if Vlad drinks MV's blood, it will give Vlad superpowers like speed, flight, and the ability to morph into a variety of creatures (hopefully, not a fucking preying mantis - once again, you're killing me here, Dario...).
There is one catch, though - and it's a big one: drinking MV's blood will make Vlad crave blood himself. The effects of MV's blood will last three days, and if Vlad can withstand the urge to drink blood before that time is up, he will become mortal and normal again. However, if he doesn't - if he gives in to the primal urge to feed - then he will turn into... a vampire for eternity. And have to serve the Master Vampire at some later point in time.
"Sounds good!" Vlad basically says. "Let's do this!"
And before you know it, Vlad has slurped back some of MV's red stuff - and just like that Vlad can leap tall mountains in a single bound and fly like the wind and scatter a hundred men just by plowing into them. Which comes in very handy because as soon as Vlad gets back to Transylvania, he sees his castle being plundered by the Turks. What follows is a scene so utterly awesome, it makes me want to visit MV and take a slurp of that red stuff myself. Essentially, Vlad single-handedly takes on a thousand Turkish warriors - and hands their asses to them. And just like that, Transylvania just might have a shot in hell of surviving Mehmed's wrath.
But what about the cravings that Vlad suddenly gets? Why does everyone's jugulars look so scrumptious all of a sudden? Why is Vlad suddenly acting like a junkie needin' a fix real, real bad? Are Mirena and Ingarus in danger from him? Can Vlad last three days without sinking his fangs into someone's flesh? And what happens when Mehmed sends even more Turkish soldiers to claim Transylvania? Will Vlad be able to beat them a second time? How will all this end?
Personally, I'd bite the nearest hot guy. Just saying...
BUT SERIOUSLY: Count Dracula is an enduring fixture not just in the Horror Genre, but in the whole of cinema, period. He is a much-loved (and feared) figure who has seen myriad screen interpretations ever since Bram Stoker's novel first popularized him in 1897. Quite frankly, he is probably the best villain (or to some, anti-hero) of all time. Much of this has to do with the character's enigmatic nature and complexity. The best Dracula films are the ones that have tapped into this mysterious quality.
Interestingly, DRACULA UNTOLD, seeks to demystify the character of Dracula. This could have easily backfired, because while it is always a good idea to lend some humanity to any villain to make them more layered, it is unwise to go too far - otherwise you de-fang (no pun intended) them. Witness what happened with Rob Zombie's thoroughly misguided remake of HALLOWEEN in 2007. Zombie humanized Michael Myers so much that it weakened what was already an ill-conceived film.
Fortunately, DRACULA UNTOLD succeeds where HALLOWEEN 2007 failed because, quite simply it has a more interesting lead character and a much better script (and director). It's crucial that we sympathize with Vlad and understand why he makes the hard decision that he does to turn to the dark side for help. Luke Evans' heartfelt performance easily tells us why. He makes Vlad's burning desire to protect his family and kingdom compelling and believable.
Earlier, we joked about how DRACULA UNTOLD was basically "Dracula - GLADIATOR-style" - but it is actually quite apt. The narrative has the same arc that GLADIATOR had, with a powerful authority figure who falls from grace but then rises again to battle the baddies - and redeem himself. Just as the wonderful Russell Crowe enlivened that classic with his commanding presence, so too does Evans make DRACULA UNTOLD his own. I hadn't really known much about Evans prior to his movie, only that he'd done strong work in THE IMMORTALS and the surprisingly good CLASH OF THE TITANS remake. But he is definitely shaping up to be someone to watch out for.
Evans is surrounded by a strong raft of supporting players. Sarah Gadon is lovely and winsome as Mirena, Vlad's loyal wife who makes a sacrifice of her own to help him win the battle against the Turkish. Noah Huntley is solid and striking in his brief but effective role as Petru, one of Vlad's commanders. Ferdinand Kingsley, son of Oscar-winner Ben Kingsley, is is also memorable in his even smaller role as Hamza Bey. However, Dominic Cooper as Memhed, the main villain, surprisingly doesn't get all that much villainy to do. Maybe it's also because Evans is such a showstopper as Vlad/Dracula that Cooper's baddie pales in comparison. Still, Cooper's low-key threat doesn't hamper the proceedings.
The battle scenes are dynamic and exciting, and there are so many of them that they make DRACULA UNTOLD more of an action film than a horror flick. Fortunately, they never get repetitive, the way some action film setpieces do. You are left eagerly awaiting the next battle. I should also add the DRACULA UNTOLD eventually ends on a haunting note that is very satisfying, yet also leaves you wanting more. Needless to say, director Gary Shore leaves the door open for the next (and much, much more modern) adventure in Vlad/Dracula's saga. Ahem.
Count us in. This is one saga that needs to be told...
