Throwback Thursday: Dracula Untold (2014)

When The Bad Guy Is Actually Pretty Nice…..

Dracula Untold (2014) is many things to many people. Some folks hate it because it humanizes one of horror’s most iconic monsters. Others hate it because they feel that the story is too bland, too drawn out, or just plain dumb. Many others (like myself) enjoy it for what it is: an action yarn that turns Dracula into a superhero.

The film opens up with a quick recap of everything that we already knew about Vlad the Impaler. He was a brutal ruler that stopped at nothing to protect his people. Then we are told that Vlad decides to hang up his stakes and wants to give peace a chance. Thanks to Mehmed II, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, that peace is short-lived. Mehmed demands one thousand boys from Vlad as tribute to the Ottoman Empire. Vlad refuses in a most violent way and Mehmed sends his army to punish Vlad’s people.

Having faced off against a demonic being earlier in the film, Vlad returns to the creature and asks it to give him its power so that he can save his people. The creature complies, warning Vlad that if he can resist drinking human blood for three days, he’ll return to his old self. Vlad accepts the gift (or curse), and wages war against Mehmed II.

After single-handedly wiping out Mehmed II’s first wave of soldiers, Vlad instructs his people to seek refuge in the Cozia Monastery. While there, the people uncover the fact that Vlad is now a vampire and nearly turn on him. Vlad’s wife, Mirena, convinces them that what Vlad has become was a necessary evil and that he only became a vampire in order to save all of there sons. Soon after, Mehmed arrives with thousands of troops and attacks the monastery. Does Dracula save his people? Does he remain a vampire? You’ll have to find out for yourself.

Yes, I know that making Dracula a noble being sort of drains the blood out of the character, but when viewed as an action film, Dracula Untold is on par with most of the films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In fact, it has a much more interesting villain than most of the villains in the MCU. Luke Evans stars as Dracula and gives a sound performance as a likeable guy trying to do what’s right. Would I have loved it if Evans was allowed to portray the character as evil? Sure, but that’s not what this version of Dracula is supposed to be, so don’t fault him for doing a good job at being a nice guy. Dominic Cooper delivers a fine performance as Mehmed II, showing both intelligence and a lust for power. Charles Dance portrays the evil vampire that Vlad finds in a cave. According to IMDb, the character is called the Master Vampire. Sarah Gadon does well as Mirena/Mina as does the rest of the cast.

The screenplay by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless is just fine if taken as an action film. Director Gary Shore keeps the story interesting and moving at a quick pace. The music, composed by Ramin Djawadi, is excellent and adds to the story. The special effects are primarily CGI but do not come off as too fake. In fact, many of the scenes of Vlad transforming into a mass of bats and then back into a human are quite captivating. Overall, this film has so many more pros than cons IF and only if you look at it as an action film.

Taken as is, Dracula Untold is pretty good. It is better overall than 2017’s The Mummy and is, at least in my opinion, would have been a better film with which to kick off Universal’s now defunct shared Dark Universe. Universal has supposedly decided to end the shard aspect of their Dark Universe and will instead apply the name as a blanket term for all of the reboot films based on classic Universal Monsters starting with Dracula Untold.

I’m hopeful that we’ll get to see Luke Evans portray Dracula in a modern setting or at least in a period film somewhere between the events of Dracula Untold and present day. Unfortunately I don’t see such a project happening any time soon. Be sure to check out this film if you haven’t seen it, but don’t expect it to be a true horror film.

As always, thanks for reading. This is an underrated film and I’d really love to see more people embrace it for the visually stunning action yarn that it is.