Other than Sherlock Holmes, Dracula has graced the silver
screen more than any other fictional character.Â
With that being the case, do we really need another movie featuring the
cursed count from Transylvania? Probably
not, but seeing as how movie studios love going back to proven properties in
order to see just how much more money they can milk out of well-worn
characters, these films are going to keep coming. Universal Pictures, which has been banking on
this most famous of vampires since 1931’s seminal horror entry starring Bela
Lugosi, has set out to reboot the character once more with Dracula Untold, an entry that has no connection to the studio’s last effort featuring the
count, the disastrous Van Helsing, and more than likely will not exist in the
same monster universe the company is planning when they remake every one of
their monster movies starting in 2016 in an effort to create a cohesive, Marvel
Universe-like world in which the Wolfman, Frankenstein’s monster, the Mummy and
the rest will rub shoulders with one another.
However, before we’re graced with that undertaking, we have
Luke Evans as Vlad Tepes, ruler of Transylvania who was once an indentured
warrior for the Turks but has now returned home to live in peace with his
countrymen. He has a beautiful wife
(Sarah Gadon), a loving son (Art Parkinson) and is much respected as a
benevolent and fair leader. However,
when the Turks come calling for their annual tribute, Vlad is told that he will
have to send 1,000 young boys for the kingdom to be trained as warriors just as
he was. An attempt to reason with the merciless Turkish leader Mehmed (Dominic
Cooper) proves fruitless and with only three days left to comply with the
request, our anti-hero journeys to a cave deep in the Carpathian Mountains,
where he strikes a deal with a vampire (Charles Dance) who’s been saddled with
the curse of the undead for centuries.Â
The bargain they make will give Vlad the powers of a vampire for three
days and as long as he resists the temptation to drink blood, he will return to
human form. However, if he succumbs to
his thirst, then…
Obviously, we know how this all turns out but the circumstances
surrounding Vlad’s decision are unexpected and surprisingly poignant. Screenwriters Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless
emphasize throughout Vlad’s humanity, providing him with moments of great
sacrifice where his family is concerned, while his justification for entering
into this devil’s agreement is sound and selfless. Evans is very good here as both man and
monster, convincing in the quiet moments Vlad spends with his family as well as
the violent ones when is character is left with no other choice by to act with
extreme prejudice. Without the actor’s
well-rounded portrayal the film’s ultimate tragic overtones wouldn’t ring true;
that the story contains any emotional resonance is due to his fine efforts.
First-time director Gary Shore and his production team led
by Francois Audouy work in tandem to create a convincing dark world in which
bargains in which your soul could be wagered is possible. In particular, the sequence in the dank cave
where Dance’s genuinely frightening bloodsucker lures Vlad into his dark realm
is suffused with menacing shadows and small patches of light, which are in
constant danger of being swallowed up, much like our ant-hero’s humanity. It’s one of the most effective, eerie scenes
I’ve seen this year and its gravity hangs over the rest of the film, much like
the debt we know Vlad is doomed to pay.
In the end, Dracula Untold winds up being a
worthy addition to the iconic vampire’s cannon and while it may not ever be
considered a classic, there are enough good things here to be optimistic about
Universal’s future plans for their stable of famous monsters.Â
This article appears in Oct 16-22, 2014.
