MOVIE REVIEW by Debbie Lynn Elias
Passionately fascinated with all things vampyric and particularly the historical facts and myth about Vlad the Impaler, needless to say I have been beyond curious about Dracula Untold. Mesmerized by Murnau’s 1922 silent, “Nosferatu”, many subsequent Dracula tellings have been hit and miss with me, including Werner Herzog’s 1979 retelling, “Nosferatu the Vampyre”, with something always missing or simply rehashed. But now, director Gary Shore brings us an origin story that is fresh in concept, painting a different picture of Vlad and what led him to his ultimate destiny.
We first meet Vlad on a river shore in Transylvania. Something is amiss, leading Vlad to believe that an invasion by the Turkish ruler King Mehmed is imminent. Believing that a helmet found in the river floated downstream, Vlad and his men go in search of the source and the scouts or legion laying in wait to attack. But Vlad finds no army, no scouts. He finds a cave, a cave in which evil lives.
As two of his men are killed by whatever unseen evil lies within the cave, Vlad heads back to his home and to Brother Lucian, one of the monks within the kingdom. After all, who better to ask about evil than a religious man. Lucian spins a tale of a man being tricked into drinking the blood of a vampire, thus cursed for all eternity but with power of the darkest dominions and a thirst for blood.
Breaking a ten-year peace between Vlad and the Turks, King Mehmed demands 1000 boys for death squad training in his Army. Vlad refuses and war erupts. Unable to protect his people, including his own son, Vlad knows what he must do and ventures back to the cave on Broketooth Mountain.
Basing DRACULA UNTOLD on the history of Romanian Prince Vlad Tepes (as did Bram Stoker), Shore and screenwriters Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless show us the man Vlad; the loving husband, father and prince, the man who will sell his soul to protect his child. We also see an expanded love story between Vlad and his wife Mirena. Keeping the story straightforward and simplifying history and myth, director Shore than has free reign to engage us visually with some stunning battle sequences, captivating shimmering imagery of glistening light against dark, and whirlwinds of bats at the command of Vlad. Much of the CGI effects are jaw-dropping.
Making the most of the picturesque yet rugged landscape of Northern Ireland, Shore and cinematographer John Schwartzman make the presence of Luke Evans and his performance even more commanding and impressive. And yes, Evan is just that. Commanding, impressive, intense, yet giving Vlad a vulnerability and likeability, not to mention romanticism that tempers the demonology of myth. A multi-textured emotional and physical performance for an emotionally complex character. Disappointing is Dominic Cooper who never feels regal or militarily astute as the murderous Mehmed.
Although there are moments that feel somewhat contrived, there is never a moment you are not fully engaged in the story or in the character. Luke Evans puts us under a spell in Dracula Untold.
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