Vampire Flicks: Dracula Untold (2014)

Dracula Untold, for me, got lost in the shuffle of several attempts to reinvent the classic monsters for a new generation, such as I, Frankenstein, which came out the same year, and Victor Frankenstein the following year. When I heard about the Dark Universe and how much of a mess that was turning out to be, as it seemed like Universal kept saying, "This is the start of it," only to immediately backtrack and say, "No, no, it isn't," I thought that all three of those movies were aborted attempts to kick it off. It wasn't until I looked them up when putting together this year's list that I learned only Dracula Untold was a Universal movie and that, even though it did pretty well and seemed to be embarking on a lot of world-building all its own, it was ultimately excluded from the Dark Universe (which didn't make it past one movie anyway, but we'll get into that tomorrow). In any case, this was a movie whose release I just barely remembered. I'm sure I saw a TV spot for it here and there at the time, but it had so little buzz behind it and made such a small impact that I almost forgot about it. And like so many other things I've reviewed on here, I would've never sought it out, otherwise. I went into it with no idea of what it even was, other than a seemingly over actionized, summer blockbuster-like take on Dracula, who starred in it, or anything else, and had a feeling that, at best, it was going to be very generic and forgettable. And sadly, that's pretty much what it is: a very middling and unimpressive attempt to retell the story of Count Dracula, focusing specifically on how and why he became a vampire. I will say that the film does succeed in making me somewhat engaged in an approach to the Count that I normally dislike, mainly because of Luke Evans' performance, and there are some noteworthy visuals and interesting bits of filmmaking here and there. But, on the whole, it's just so "meh," with a number of bland, one-note characters, uninteresting and, sometimes, hard to see action sequences, some bad CGI, and a surprisingly constrained and threadbare feel to the production values, in spite of the budget.

In 1442, the Sultan of Turkey enslaves 1,000 young boys from Transylvania, brutally training them to become ruthless and efficient killing machines for his army. One of these boys is Vlad Draculea, who becomes the Sultan's more feared warrior, with his horrific practice of psychological warfare earning him the title of "Vlad the Impaler." However, Vlad eventually becomes sickened by his actions and returns to Transylvania, where he's crowned prince, and intends to bury his monstrous past and rule in peace. For ten years, he manages to do just that. Then, one day, the scarred helmet of a Turkish soldier is found in a forest stream. Vlad, fearing the scout was one of a party making way for an invasion, decides to track them down and attempt to negotiate. He and two of his men make their way to Broken Tooth Mountain, from which the helmet was washed downstream, and find a cave, which they believe the Turks are hiding in. While investigating it, the three of them are attacked by a humanoid creature that manages to kill Vlad's men but doesn't pursue him out into the daylight. Returning to Castle Dracula, Vlad learns from a monk that the creature is a vampire, an initially mortal man who made a deal with a demon to become powerful, only for the demon to trick him into becoming forever trapped within the cave. Vlad decides not to disclose this to his already fearful people. After spending the evening with his beloved wife, Mirena, and their young son, Ingeras, they celebrate Easter the next day. Their feast is interrupted by the arrival of a Turkish envoy, who informs Vlad that Sultan Mehmed II demands 1,000 boys to be given over to his Janissary Corps, much to the protest and horror of Vlad's people. As he and Mehmed were boyhood friends, Vlad is convinced by Mirena to go to him and ask for mercy. However, Mehmed proves completely unsympathetic, and then demands Ingeras be brought in, along with the 1,000 boys. But when they come for his son, Vlad manages to kill the Turkish party, ensuring that war will come. Needing more than just his strength to defend his people, he returns to Broken Tooth Mountain and bargains with the vampire. The vampire allows him to drink his blood, giving him some of his power, but adds that, if he should feed on another human being within the next three days, he will be forever cursed. Vlad makes the Faustian bargain and finds he now has the potential to save his people. But along the way, he must both resist his growing hunger for blood and contend with his people's creeping fear over what he's become.

The film first entered development seven years before it was released. Originally called Dracula: Year Zero, it was intended to be directed by Alex Proyas, who directed The Crow, Dark City, I, Robot, and Knowing, with Sam Worthington eventually signing on to play Prince Vlad. However, Proyas left the film in 2012 over budget disputes, and Worthington went with him. Ultimately, Universal went with Gary Shore, a graduate of Dublin's National Film School, who'd only done short films and commercials up to that point. Instead of setting out to make Dracula Untold into a full-on horror film, Shore approached the story as a period drama with action-adventure elements, and it went on to do well, making $217 million on a budget of $70 million. Since Dracula Untold, Shore has only directed a segment of the 2016 horror anthology, Holidays (one of the directors of which was Kevin Smith), and the 2023 British horror film, Haunting of the Queen Mary, based on the famed ghost ship.

You may have been surprised to see me say I actually kind of like the portrayal of Dracula here, when I've said numerous times before that I hate it when they try to humanize or make him sympathetic. I think the reason why I wasn't so against it here is because, in all those other movies, they try to do wso when Dracula has already been a vampire for centuries, has preyed on countless people, and is menacing the current film's protagonists; here, we get to see and know who Dracula was before he became the legendary Count, and what led him to become the Lord of the Undead. In this case, like in Bram Stoker's Dracula and what we saw in Van Helsing, they attempt to combine the literary Dracula with the real-life figure of Vlad the Impaler, this time portraying them as the same person more so than they've ever been before. Here, Vlad Draculea (Luke Evans) is given the backstory of having been one of many young Transylvanian boys ripped from their homes and forced to become vicious warriors as part of the Turkish sultan's Janissary corps. Due to their cruel and abusive training, he became one of the most feared soldiers of the Turkish Army, called "Vlad the Impaler, Son of the Dragon," for his penchant of leaving his enemies' bodies skewered on spears. However, Vlad became horrified and ashamed of his actions, and returned to Transylvania to peacefully rule as its prince, hoping to leave his grisly past behind him. By the time the story begins, he's managed to keep the peace for ten years, and has a wife and young son he adores. However, when he and his men find a slashed Turkish scout helmet, he fears it's a sign of impending invasion, and he also fears for his son, Ingeras, as he's reached the age Vlad himself was when he became the Turks' "royal prisoner." His fears are validated when an envoy from Sultan Mehmed II shows up at his castle's Easter celebration and informs him that, like his father before him, Mehmed demands 1,000 Transylvanian boys for his Janissary corps. Horrified at this, and learning that Mehmed, despite their once being very close, will not be swayed otherwise, Vlad decides he will not do as his own father did and let them take his son. This defiance ensures war, leading to Vlad's deal with the devil for the power to protect his loved ones and his country.

Some may also ask why I'm okay with this but don't like Bram Stoker's Dracula, where Gary Oldman's Vlad Dracula also has someone he dearly loves, takes on the Turks, and becomes a vampire. Well, for one thing, while Luke Evans' performance here isn't Oscar-worthy, I like his initial soft-spoken, subtle, and heartfelt approach much more than Oldman's overly theatrical performance, with that exaggerated Hungarian accent. Also, while in that movie, Dracula became

a vampire when he angrily renounced God after the woman he loved committed suicide (not an unreasonable motive, mind you), here he makes a Faustian bargain with the vampire in the cave on Broken Tooth Mountain out of the selfless need to save his country and family. It's obvious he only does it out of desperation, as he was aghast to learn of the vampire's existence and asked that Brother Lucian, the monk who told him the story, not reveal it to the populace and make them more

frightened than they already were by the possibility of a Turk invasion. When he meets with the vampire, he's forced to face his own demons and admit that he killed thousands of innocent people as Vlad the Impaler, and that he felt absolutely nothing at the time he did it, which he calls, "A greater crime than the act itself." He goes on to say the reason why he committed these horrific acts was to make his enemies afraid, saying, "Men do not fear swords. They fear monsters. They run from them. By putting one village to the stake, I

spared ten more. Sometimes, the world no longer needs a hero. Sometimes what it needs... is a monster." Seeing him as worthy of the powers of darkness, the vampire agrees to give him some of his power by having him drink his blood. But he adds that, in addition to the benefits, he will develop a thirst for human blood which, should he give in to it within the next three days, will make him a vampire permanently. Vlad, confident that he can resist, drinks the blood and passes out. He awakens in the forest that night and finds his

senses have heightened and his strength increased dramatically, along with other powers, all of which allow him to single-handedly defeat a massive garrison from the Turkish army. But, during his people's trek to Cozia Monastery for safety, he finds that his hunger for blood is increasing, that he's being followed by a strange man who offers to serve him, and he's forced to take refuge during the daytime, impeding his ability to help his people.

What's more, as the three days wear on, Vlad becomes more aggressive and full of bloodlust. When he finally reaches the monastery, along with his wife and son, he growls at his advisor, Cazan, to be quiet when he criticizes him for not showing up sooner, and angrily stops some of his men from praying, yelling, "The Turks are coming! Prayers will not defend these walls!" This change in him frightens both Ingeras and his wife, Mirena, the latter of whom, by this point has learned what is

happening to her husband, and when he's exposed as a vampire to his people, they react by attempting to burn the hut he's in. He emerges, burned but otherwise unharmed, and thoroughly enraged, snarling, "This is your loyalty?! Your gratitude?! Fools. Do you think you are alive because you can fight?!" He rips a large board from the burning wreckage, yelling, "You are alive because of me! Because of what I did to save you!" But before can he do something that will truly turn them against

him, Mirena talks him down, and when Vlad also sees the terror on Ingeras' face, he calms himself. He drops the board, tells his men to get to their stations, and goes into the chapel to pray. With the Turks approaching, he then becomes concerned about whether or not he can defeat them before dawn, and whether he will be able to be with Mirena as he wants. When the Turks arrive, he's able to use his power to kill a number of them, only to realize he's been decoyed and that a small squad have sneaked into the monastery. This spells doom

for Mirena, who falls from the monastery and is fatally wounded, despite Vlad's attempt to save her, while Ingeras is taken. Before she dies, Mirena asks Vlad to drink her blood in order to become a fully-fledged vampire and gain even greater powers so he can save their son. Reluctantly, he does so, but lets out an anguished cry afterward. He returns to the monastery, where most of his people were slaughtered, and turns those still alive into vampires. Dawning his "Impaler" armor kept at the monastery, he creates a violent storm to 

block out the sun, allowing them to attack and savage the Turks, while Vlad deals with Mehmed personally. Though Mehmed uses Vlad's weakness against silver while battling him, Vlad ultimately proves triumphant, both impaling and feeding on Mehmed, declaring, "My name is Dracula, Son of the Devil." But then, when he attempts to leave with his son, the other vampires intend to feed on Ingeras, and Vlad has to send him away with Brother Lucian. He destroys all the vampires, including himself, by clearing the clouds and allowing the sunlight to pour in. But, before he expires, the man who wished to serve him drips some of his own blood into his mouth, reviving him.

As you've gathered, in this film, being a vampire is almost akin to being a dark superhero. When Vlad first awakens in the forest after drinking the vampire's blood, he manages to crush a large rock simply by putting his weight on it in an attempt to stand up, and then sees that his hand got cut in the process, but that the wound heals instantly. His senses are also heightened, as he's able to hear the sound of a spider webbing up its prey, and then finds he can see in the dark in a type of thermal

vision. Significantly, not only is he extremely fast but, rather than turn into a bat, he's able to become a small swarm of them. Similarly, as the vampire tells him, he can control the creatures of the night, and during the battle with the Turks at the monastery, he takes control of thousands of bats and uses them as a force against the army, manipulating them into forming an enormous hand and slamming down on them. But as powerful as he is, when he's forced to drink Mirena's blood to

become a full-fledged vampire, his power increases exponentially, as he can not only turn others into vampires but can also create a storm to block out the sun for as long as he needs to be active. As far as weaknesses go, like in the original Bram Stoker novel, Vlad can move about in the daytime but does have to avoid direct contact with sunlight (that said, the movie's look can make it hard to determine when it's night or merely an overcast day, and there are moments where Vlad is either partially or completely exposed to it). Interestingly,

when Vlad is only partially a vampire, he's not yet repelled by holy symbols. However, the most focused on weakness is silver, as he finds his silver ring or anything else made of it burns him, and during his climactic battle with Mehmed, he has to do so in a tent filled with silver coins and with the Sultan wielding a silver sword. This severely weakens Vlad and impairs his vision, giving Mehmed an advantage, and at the end of the fight, when he has Vlad down, he attempts to stake him, knowing it would destroy him.

While she may not be the deepest character, Vlad's wife, Mirena (Sarah Gadon), is most definitely his rock and the person he loves the most, along with their son. In their first scene, it's clear what a loving and amorous couple they are, and when Mirena sees how concerned he is over the thought of Ingeras possibly being forced to serve in the Turkish army like him, she does what she can to comfort him. But when Mehmed, sure enough, not only intends to indoctrinate 1,000 Transylvania boys into his Janissary corps, but demands Ingeras as well, Mirena is shocked to the point of feeling betrayed by Vlad, as he promised this would never happen. She has to be restrained in order for the trade to take place, but then, Vlad decides not to go through with it and kills the Turks who come to collect Ingeras. After he becomes a vampire and manages to defeat the Turks who attack Castle Dracula, during the trek to Cozia Monastery, Mirena is the first to learn what's happening to him. She knows something's wrong when they try to get intimate but he suddenly leaves her, as he began to fixate on her neck. And then, the next morning, she awakens to find him curled completely under a blanket in order to avoid the sunlight, and wearing his silver ring around his neck, which is lightly burning his chest. She also notes that the scars that were once on his chest are gone. Deciding not to keep the truth from her any longer, he partially exposes himself to the sunlight, burning off particles of flesh. Initially thinking he's been cursed, Mirena is truly shocked when Vlad tells her he chose this power to defend them, and is panicked at the thought of his third for blood and what will happen if he gives in to it. But when he vows to fight the urge until the three days are up, Mirena decides to stick with him and attempts to keep his secret from the others. Regardless, his people do learn what he's become, and she tries to keep them from trying to destroy him, saying he did it to protect them. She also has to talk Vlad down when he's enraged after they burn him, telling him, "This is not who you are." As the battle approaches, Mirena vows to fight with Vlad to the bitter end, although she eventually falls from the monastery while trying to protect Ingeras and is mortally wounded. Before she dies, she has Vlad drink her blood in order to give him the strength necessary to save their son.

Sarah Gadon also appears as Mina Murray, a young woman who Vlad meets in modern London during the epilogue. They never go into whether she's a descendant of Mirena or a full-on reincarnation, but there is some connection, as Vlad mentions a poem that bonded him and Mirena ("Why think separately of this life and the next, when one is born from the last,"), and it stops Mina in her tracks, as she says it's her favorite. She becomes more taken with Vlad when he explains how it's about yearning, "Of one soul pleading for another," and the two of them go off together.

Though initially terrified at the prospect of being forced to become one of Mehmed's soldiers, Ingeras (Art Parkinson), who opens the movie with a narration about his father's backstory, is willing to go along with it when the time comes, despite his obvious fear. But just as he's about to surrender himself, Vlad reneges on the deal and kills those who came to collect Ingeras. For much of the second act, Ingeras is mostly just one of the many throngs of Vlad's people who have to escape Castle Dracula and get to Cozia Monastery. But, despite his mother's attempts to shield him from what his father has become, he does witness the attempt to burn him and his potentially lethal rage. He is frightened by what he sees, but that doesn't stop him from joining his father when he goes into the chapel to pray. Ingeras even brings him some bread, and the two of them share it in the pew, with Vlad proudly telling him that he'll be a great and compassionate leader some day. Realizing he became a vampire because he stopped the Turks from taking him, Ingeras feels guilty about it, but Vlad assures him that he would do it all again if he had to. During the third act, despite Vlad using his power to repel the Turks, he's unable to prevent Mirena's death or Ingeras' abduction. Ingeras witnesses Vlad's battle with Mehmed in the latter's tent, and his near death, but is, again, shocked when his father not only impales Mehmed but feeds on his blood. And then, Ingeras becomes a target for Vlad's vampire army and has to be taken to safety by Brother Lucian, protesting and screaming for his father. In the end, Ingeras is made the new prince of Transylvania, and narrates, "Prince Vlad Dracula was a hero, but... there are no pictures, or statues of him. I am his legacy. His sacrifice taught me that, even after the darkest night, the sun will rise again... For if the heart is strong enough, the soul is reborn with each new day, in life after life, age after age, forever."

Among Vlad's men, the noteworthy include Dumitru (Diarmaid Murtagh), who seems to be fairly close to him, and is often concerned when he's intent on taking major risks, like seeking out the Turk scouts he believes are hiding at Broken Tooth Mountain or, according to Mirena, spying on the Turks while the others make their way to monastery. Dumitru is killed while trying to defend Mirena and Ingeras when they're attacked on the way, but he lasts long enough to see Vlad's

newfound powers. When he dies, his face has an expression of uncertainty about it. Cazan (William Houston) is Vlad's longtime advisor and he often tries to get him to follow the path that will avoid war with the Turks, despite the awful consequences. He tells Vlad, "Courage, anger, even love, none of these can matter to a prince. All that matters is his duty to his people." And when Vlad kills the garrison that comes to collect Ingeras, Cazan chastises him for this, saying he's guaranteed war and that he won't be able to protect them, prompting Vlad to seek out the vampire at Broken Tooth Mountain. Later, as Vlad's vampirism grows, he becomes more impatient with Cazan's criticism, angrily telling him to be quiet when he takes him to task for separating from them during the trek to the monastery. He's also unsure what to make of things when he realizes what Vlad has become, but when he's mortally wounded by the Turks' attack, he's willing to accept Vlad's offer for revenge. Thus, he and the others who weren't killed become vampires, and Cazan, in particular, seems to relish it. During the vampire army's attack, before he kills one of Mehmed's generals, he tells him, "I used to think there were too many of you. Now, there's not enough," and he also loves how he doesn't feel old and weak anymore. However, he and the other vampires prove to be a threat to Ingeras, with Cazan repeating his lesson to Vlad that nothing should matter to a prince but his people, adding that all humans are their enemies now and, "When he's gone, you'll be free." Cazan gets impaled through the heart and destroyed by Vlad for threatening Ingeras.

It's only thanks to Brother Lucian's (Paul Kaye) intervention that Ingeras is saved from all the other vampires. Though his role is small, Lucian is significant in that he tells Vlad of the Master Vampire's nature and story at the beginning of the movie, and is one of the first to truly recognize that he has become a vampire himself when he sees Vlad avoiding sunlight at the monastery. He offers to kill him before he can completely condemn his own soul, but when Vlad refuses, Lucian exposes him to sunlight, outing him to the others and prompting them to attempt to burn him. With no explanation given, Lucian escapes the Turks' attack on the monastery and, after the battle is over, shows up with a cross to repel the vampires and takes Ingeras to safety. Though the boy is reluctant to go, Vlad makes him and charges Lucian to take care of him, which he silent promises to do.

A major strike against the movie's writing is how utterly one note and cartoonishly evil the Turks are portrayed, chief among them Sultan Mehmed II (Dominic Cooper). When Vlad goes to talk with him about his request for 1,000 boys, Mehmed refuses to back down from his demand, and his reasoning for it is is basically because... he's the sultan, and whatever he says goes. Moreover, when Vlad attempts to appeal to the fact that they were once very close by calling him brother, Mehmed, in his response, calls Vlad "brother" in a very indignant and condescending manner. Vlad offers himself up, rather than the boys, but even though Mehmed says, "Those kings will tremble if they knew," he still refuses, saying, "What need have I for one more soldier? I will have my thousand boys." It really is like he's doing it for no other reason than to be an oppressive asshole towards those under his rule. What's more, he says Ingeras is to be brought along, in addition to the thousand boys, a demand that feels out of spite for Vlad's "impertinence." He then comments, "What is one son? If you are virile, you will make plenty more," and also says that Vlad may retain his position as prince, but he will leave one of his generals with him to ensure he does as he's told. Naturally, when Vlad decides not to follow through with this deal, Mehmed attacks Transylvania. He's not at all shaken when he learns that a thousand of his men were killed at Castle Dracula, deciding to lead 100,000 men personally. When he's told of the rumors of Vlad now being inhuman, Mehmed's solution is to have his troops march blindfolded to the Cozia Monastery, thinking they can't be afraid of something they can't see (what kind of logic is that?). While a bunch of his men are killed, his plan to decoy Vlad with the enormous army, while a squad sneaks into the monastery, does prove successful, as Ingeras is abducted and Mirena and the others are either killed or mortally wounded. But then, Mehmed and his remaining forces have to face Vlad's new vampire army. Even this, the Sultan is prepared for, as he fills his tent with silver coins (the very coins Vlad had made as a tribute to him) and wields a silver sword, giving him an advantage. He remains smug throughout his battle with Vlad, and comes close to staking him, but is ultimately staked himself and then fed upon.

Hamza Bey (Ferdinand Kingsley), one of Mehmed's generals, is killed off by Vlad early on, but the way he and his men barge into the Easter celebration at Castle Dracula makes it very clear how the Turks are going to be portrayed. He comes off as smarmy, arrogant, and belittling towards Vlad and his family, and though he ostensibly arrives to acquire Mehmed's tribute of silver coins, he surreptitiously accuses Vlad of having killed the missing scouts, telling him, in Turkish, "It still

lives in you, Lord Impaler. Locked in a dark cage, hidden away. But you and I... we both know it's there." He also acts like he's about to leave, when he turns around and delivers Mehmed's decree about the 1,000 boys, then tells all the young men who are anywhere from ten to fourteen, and fifteen up, where they will be stationed. Before Vlad can protest, Bey tells him, "The Sultan expects your obedience. After all, did not your own father give you up without a fight?" Bey later leads the small group who come to fetch Ingeras, then makes the mistake of telling Vlad that they expected more resistance. He gets his wish when Vlad slices both of his arms off, before killing him and the rest of his men. Also introduced in the scene at the Easter feast is Bright Eyes (Thor Kristjansson), an assassin who, in that scene, inspects the various boys to see if they're fit or not, and seems to be a little too into it. He attempts to strong-arm one boy in particular, but Vlad intervenes. Bright Eyes is the one who kills Dumitru during the trek to the monastery, and comes close to killing Mirena and taking Ingeras, when Vlad shows up and seemingly sends him falling to his death. However, Bright Eyes climbs back up the cliff and is one of the men who sneaks into the monastery and, this time, succeeds in killing Mirena and abducting Ingeras. But during the climactic battle with the vampires, Vlad, instead of killing him personally, leaves him to be massacred by another vampire, namely the boy he attempted to strong-arm.

The most memorable and fascinating character for me is the "Master Vampire," who gives Vlad some of his power. For one, he's played by Charles Dance, who's always awesome. Second, his backstory suggests he was the very first vampire ever, having made a deal with a demon for power, only to become trapped within the cave on Broken Tooth Mountain for eternity. (I've read that he was originally meant to have been the notorious Roman emperor, Caligula, but the filmmakers decided to reveal that in a potential sequel.) Third is his personal fascination with Vlad himself. When he and two of his men first enter the cave, the Master Vampire kills the men and attempts to kill Vlad, but is repelled by the sunlight. Then, when Vlad returns to him, he's initially intent on finishing him off, but becomes curious when he smells hope rather than fear about him. Vlad explains his dilemma, and the Master Vampire, knowing who he is, asks if the people he's trying to save know how many innocents he himself killed as the Impaler. He becomes enraged when Vlad tries to downplay the number by saying it was hundreds and grabs him by the throat, slams him against the wall, and snarls, "Lie to me again and I'll open you from your belly to your brain, and feed you your intestines!" Vlad admits it was thousands, that he felt nothing when he did it, and that he made himself into a monster to frighten his enemies. This seems to somewhat offend the vampire, as he says, "And you believe you know what it is to be a monster? Hmm?... You have no idea. But I'm going to show you." It turns out, he's been waiting for a man like Vlad, seeing him as his own instrument of salvation. He spills some of his blood into the upside top of a shattered skull and offers it to him, telling him it will give him some of his powers, but also warns him of the consequential thirst for blood and eternal damnation if he gives in to it. The latter is something he yearns for, as it would set him free from the cave, while Vlad would take his place as a force for the darkness, and he would be able to call on him as the Master would be able to call on him. He refers to it as, "The ultimate game: light versus dark, hope versus despair, and all the world's fate hangs in the balance," and implores him to drink, adding, "Let the games begin."

Throughout the movie, as Vlad attempts to resist giving in to his bloodlust, the Master Vampire's voice can be heard, baiting him to do it and fulfill his "destiny." Eventually, Vlad is forced to drink Mirena's blood and become a full-fledged vampire in order to save Ingeras, allowing the Master to leave his cave. He senses it's about to happen when Mirena pleads with Vlad to drink her blood, and when it does and he's able to walk out of the cave for the first time in thousands of years, it's

something he silently relishes. He has no part in the climax, but he is seen again during the final scene, in modern day London, looking like a businessman and watching as Vlad meets up with Mina Murray, a possible reincarnation of Mirena. When the two of them walk away, he follows after them, again saying, "Let the games begin," hinting that he intends to make good on his threat to make Vlad serve him.

Charles Dance's makeup is fairly simple, making him look pale and ancient, with long, sharp fingernails, but it works well enough, having a bit of a Count Orlok vibe to it, and is shot really well. Despite his frail visage, the Master Vampire is still quite strong, agile, and ferocious, and his first appearance, where he brutally slaughters Vlad's men, is a memorable one, especially when you see him standing in the dark, his eyes glowing as he snarls at Vlad, who's in the light and just out of his

reach. While sizing Vlad up, he also proves to have a long, nasty tongue that he uses to seemingly taste him. When Vlad feeds on Mirena's blood and sets the Master Vampire free, he not only is able to leave the cave, but appears to become younger and more human-like, a visage he carries with him into the modern day. However, I don't quite get the rules here. Obviously, he's still a vampire, given that he retains his claw-like fingernails even into the modern age, but I don't understand why, if he essentially meant for Vlad to take his place, why

Vlad wasn't confined to the cave while the Master Vampire was set free? Could he have done the same by turning just anybody into a vampire? And why was he now able to exert control over Vlad if the need arose? Maybe that was all part of the demon's curse but this feels more complicated than the usual vampire tropes.

The movie does have its own version of Renfield, but his appearance is so random and he adds nothing to the story, other than an explanation for why Vlad went on for centuries despite his attempted suicide at the end. The character, Shkelgim (Zach McGowan), is first seen at the beginning, as he's the one who finds the slashed Turkish scout helmet and brings Vlad and his men to examine it. Later, when Vlad separates himself from the campsite while he and his people are on their way to the monastery, he finds Shkelgim spying on him. He tells Vlad, "I follow them," indicating some bats flying overhead, and adds, "They recognize one of their own. The night is their kingdom. Blood, their sustenance. And some, they say, have lived for as long as there have been prey to devour." He pulls out a knife, seemingly to threaten Vlad, but it turns out that he wishes to serve him. He cuts himself, pouring his blood into a cup, and offers it to Vlad. Disgusted, Vlad knocks it away, grabs and slams Shkelgim against a tree, and tells him to stay away. Shkelgim merely slinks away, still calling him, "Master." At the end of the movie, after Vlad has tried to destroy himself, along with the other vampires, Shkelgim reappears and drips some of his blood into Vlad's mouth, reviving him. (I don't get why Vlad didn't just kill him and then expose himself to the sun again. Or why he didn't stake himself, for that matter.)

I have to say this about the screenwriting: it seems as though Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless have never heard of telegraphing and why it's not a great idea in storytelling. Besides the obvious foregone conclusion of Vlad's ultimate fate, there are several moments where something will be brought up in such an obvious manner that you know it's either going to be contradicted or come to pass, and what's especially funny is how these come almost immediately. For instance, during the Easter celebration, Dumitru proposes a toast to Vlad's

successfully peaceful rule, saying, "Here's to twenty more." How about twenty seconds, as that's how much time passes before Hamza Bey and his men arrive to announce Mehmed's demand for 1,000 boys. Then, that night, Vlad assures Ingeras that he doesn't have to fear being made part of the sultan's Janissary corps, something that already came up when Vlad shared with Mirena his fears about how Ingeras is now the same age he was when he was ripped away from his home. And then, three minutes later, during his ill-fated

meeting with Mehmed, Vlad is ordered to give up Ingeras. Other examples are when, right after Mirena tells Ingeras that they've almost reached the monastery, they're attacked by the Turks; Mehmed learns of the rumors circulating about Vlad's new, possibly monstrous nature, and he's then exposed as a vampire to his people by Brother Lucian; and Vlad says he hopes he'll never have to don his Impaler armor again, only to do so before the final battle. Granted, we didn't know exactly what he

was referring to in that latter scenario, until he opened the door in the armory, but you just knew that, whatever it was, it was going to come into play. And finally, there are moments early on where Vlad has visions of disturbing images involving his wife and son, some of which, you eventually learn, were foretelling his final give over to the darkness, setting the Master Vampire free. So, even with the foregone conclusion of Vlad becoming Count Dracula, they still managed to telegraph the exact details of it, i.e. the point behind making this movie.

While the cinematography by John Schwartzman, who shot a lot of Michael Bay's early movies, The Amazing Spider-Man, and went on to do Jurassic World, is fair enough, with a lush look to it, what drives me crazy is how hard it can be to tell if it's nighttime or not. The nighttime scenes are shot in a style that can only be described as modern day-for-night, as it's clearly daytime shooting made to look darker. It was likely a money-saving technique but, when it's combined with a lot of overcast daytime scenes and how the sequence of events is edited, it

can leave you wondering what time of day it is. For instance, when Vlad is first turned, he awakens in the forest at night, defends his castle from the Turks, and leads his people to the Cozia Monastery. But in the middle of the montage where we see them beginning the journey, and Mehmed learning of his army's defeat, there's a shot of the sun rising over the monastery, only for it to go back to nighttime, and not truly become daytime until Vlad is forced to stay in his tent. Then, when night falls again, Vlad comes out, saves his wife and son from

Bright Eyes, and leads them to the monastery, all in that dark blue filter, so I assume it's still nighttime, but, man, does it look fake. But then, after a cutaway to Mehmed and his enormous army marching towards the monastery, it's now clearly daytime, with Vlad attempting to avoid the sunlight... but a few minutes later, when he's exposed as a vampire and they try to burn him, it looks as though it's become faux nighttime again! And then, it is, supposedly, nighttime again, only

for Vlad to say dawn will break soon. We know that the climactic battle takes place during an overcast day, as Vlad uses his newfound powers to block out the sun, but I can't remember the last time I saw a vampire movie that maddened me so much about not knowing whether or not it was nighttime (the final scene in modern day has that same look as well). What's more, this visual aesthetic sometimes makes it hard to enjoy the action scenes, which are, themselves, shot and edited well enough, but it hardly matters when the movie's very look is kind of obscuring them.

Putting that major issue aside, the movie is shot well enough, with a nice general look to it, and the cinematography tends to highlight the beauty of Ireland, where it was shot. There's some nice imagery in the film, which are mostly created through visual effects, like the expansive shots of the countryside, landmarks like Broken Tooth Mountain, Castle Dracula, and Cozia Monastery, and the Turkish army marching in to attack. The opening has the camera panning through a number of still figures, depicting how the Turkish Sultan

made a thousand Transylvanian boys into his brutal warriors, Vlad become feared as the Impaler, and how he repented for his crimes, ending on a quite striking final shot of him praying before a field of his impaled victims before a setting sun (that does seem particularly reminiscent of Bram Stoker's Dracula). Another memorable moment comes when, during his battle with the Turkish army attacking his castle, the camera zooms in on the blade of a sword he just flung at one of the soldiers

and, as the man falls, it reflects Vlad's ongoing curb-stomp on the soldiers, and he removes it and walks off with it after the man hits the ground. Again, these are shots created mostly through visual effects, but they're still pretty impressive, and the battle scenes, while nothing truly spectacular (the climactic one is actually quite underwhelming), are, as I always ask for, fast-paced but also coherent (despite the movie's look sometimes making them hard to see). Finally, sometimes blurred, shaky POV shots are employed to show how the presence of silver affects the vampires.

Shot entirely in Northern Ireland (except for the final scene in modern day, which was in London), the movie, for a fairly big budget, period piece, is surprisingly lax in terms of production design. Most of it takes place either out in the woods, in large plains, or quarries, and there are only a small handful of notable interiors. One of them is Castle Dracula, the interiors of which are McArthur Hall in Belfast, but all you see are Vlad's comfortable living quarters with his family, the large banquet hall where the Easter celebration is held, and the

dimly lit interiors of the monastery, where Brother Lucian tells Vlad the Master Vampire's story (there's a strange bit of set decoration there involving three stuffed monkeys doing the "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" poses), as well as the cathedral, where everyone takes shelter during the Turks' attack. Another is the inside of the Cozia Monastery, with its inner courtyard, the armory, containing a room where Vlad's Impaler armor is housed, a building where the monks work on the

weapons, the elegant cathedral, the tower housing some living quarters, and another tower housing a number of bats, which Vlad takes control of during the battle. And finally, you have the Master Vampire's gloomy, cobweb-infested cave, the floor of which is littered with centuries' worth of shattered bones from his victims. Mehmed also tends to spend his scenes in some very elegant tents and living quarters he has set up along the battlefields, which has fancy dining tables, models of his battle plans, and even some columns holding them up, which make me pity who has to transport and then set them up each time they move on.

Even as a period piece, Dracula Untold isn't very impressive, what with the lack of very significant art direction, scenes taking place in villages, or even primitive types of vehicles like carriages, save for Mirena's royal coach in one scene (in fact, there are hardly any horses here). I'm not concerned with the movie being historically accurate to the era or the real Vlad the Impaler (which I've heard it isn't by a long shot), as I know that wasn't the filmmakers' intentions, especially since none of the actors are Romanian or Turkish, nor do they even

attempt to come across as such. Rather, when you have a period piece with this large of a budget behind it, you expect a lot more but, in this case, all you really have are the costumes, the armor, and the weapons. They look nice enough, but they're not at all spectacular, and I find myself actually liking the Impaler armor from Bram Stoker's Dracula more than what Luke Evans wears here. In fact, while I like the armor and red cape he wears initially (despite it looking a bit too much

like Chris Hemsworth's Thor costume), the dark outfit he wears after becoming a vampire comes off as more contemporary than I'd want. I personally would like to have seen more trappings of the period, like the old-fashioned bathing tub Vlad uses early on, the silver coins he gives to Mehmed as a tribute, or the decorations of the castle's bedrooms; anything to make the setting stand out more.

There's not nearly as much CGI to be found here as in the last handful of movies we've talked about, and, yet again, it works out fine when they use it to augment the landscapes, create buildings and other structures, make it look as though Mehmed has thousands of soldiers marching under his command, or when Vlad creates the massive storm during the climactic battle. Even when Vlad and, later, his vampire soldiers turn into clouds of bats, it looks okay. And as I've already said, it is used to create some memorably imagery. But there

are other effects, like the Master Vampire's long tongue (that could've easily been done practically), Vlad being burned by the sunlight, especially at the end, when he attempts to kill himself and the other vampires, and the mass of bats he uses to attack the Turks during the third act, that look pretty bad, but they're not deal-breakers. As far as makeup effects go, there's a surprising amount of bloodletting for a PG-13 movie, with the Master Vampire and Shkelgim both cutting open their hands, letting the blood collect, and offering it to Vlad. Vlad himself

does so and offers it to his followers so they can become vampires and take revenge on the Turks, and there's a bit of bloodshed during the battle and kill scenes, like when Dumitru is killed by Bright Eyes, when the vampires kill the Turks, and when Vlad is forced to feed on Mirena. And that's to say nothing of the numerous bones and skulls that litter the Master Vampire's cave. However, when they attempt to kill Vlad by burning him, it's not at all impressive when he emerges from the fire, as the

only damage he's suffered is from when he was exposed to the sunlight before the building was set ablaze, and even that just looks as though he has streaks and patches of light-blue makeup on his face. I would say that, because of the rating, they couldn't make him look too gruesome there, but I then remember how Anakin looked after he was burned near the end of Revenge of the Sith, which was way more hideous, and realize they probably could've gone a little farther.

I'm going to go on but, I have to stop for a moment and say that, after each time I've watched Dracula Untold, I've asked myself, "What did this accomplish?" Seriously, what was the point of doing a, fair enough but, on the whole, unimpressive, watered-down, superhero-like origin story for Count Dracula? If this was meant to be part of the Dark Universe, then I would've understood. I still wouldn't have agreed with this approach, but it would've made more sense. But, knowing that wasn't the case, I don't get what they

hoped to accomplish with this film, even when they, supposedly, retroactively hoped to tie it to the Dark Universe. I don't think expanding upon the prologue to Bram Stoker's Dracula and connecting the fictional Dracula to the historical one is necessarily a bad idea, and as I said, I think the portrayal of him in this case is a decent one, and I'm intrigued by the Master Vampire, but as it stands, this is truly a soulless and uninspired piece of popcorn fluff. It may have paid off for them financially, but it never went anywhere else, so it was still ultimately dead in the water.

The movie's opening, with the still images depicting Vlad's brutal training and rise as the Impaler, is accompanied with a narration by Ingeras: "In the year of our Lord, 1442,, the Turkish sultan enslaved 1,000 Transylvanian boys to fill the ranks of his army. These child slaves were beaten without mercy, trained to kill without conscience, to crave the blood of all who defied the Turks. From among these boys, one grew into a warrior so fierce that entire armies would retreat in 

terror at the mention of his name: 'Vlad the Impaler. Son of the Dragon.' Sickened by his monstrous acts, Vlad came to bury his past with the dead, and returned to Transylvania to rule in peace. His subjects called him Prince. I called him Father. But the world would come to know him as... Dracula." It then cuts to some time later, when Vlad is now Transylvania's price, as he's shown the slashed helmet of the Turkish scout, found in a mountain stream. Figuring it was washed down

from Broken Tooth Mountain, and that the scouts will seek shelter come nightfall, he sends Dumitru back to Castle Dracula to alert the guards. In the meantime, he has two other men, Nicolae and Andrei, join him, as he heads to the mountain to find the scouts and negotiate with them. They make their way up the mountain and find the entrance to a cave on a ledge. Nicolae and Andrei peer inside, searching for any sign of movement, when a huge swam of bats suddenly flies out. Vlad takes it as a sign that the scouts are inside, saying

something disturbed the bats and caused them to fly out in the daytime. He unsheathes his sword, as do the other men, and they head inside. Nicolae lights a torch, illuminating the cobweb-infested interiors, as the discarded and damaged equipment and armor of the scouts, and the thousands of pieces of crushed bone that litter the floor. Vlad realizes it's not the Turks' doing, and unbeknownst to them, they're being watched from the darkness. As they peer into it, Nicolae asks what's in there, when he's suddenly ambushed by something fast

and ferocious. Vlad and Andrei run for it, but the latter is grabbed and slammed against the ceiling. The creature comes at Vlad, and though he manages to slice it across its torso, he's knocked back onto the ground. He crawls backwards, into the sunlight at the edge of the cave's entrance, and grabs his discarded sword, which reflects the light. The creature stops short of attacking him and slinks back into the darkness, growling. Vlad looks at his sword's blade and watches as the specks of the creature's blood disintegrate in the sunlight. He then rides back to Castle Dracula, where he learns of the creature's backstory and nature.

During the castle's Easter celebration the following day, when Hamza Bey and his men show up to announce Mehmed II's demand for 1,000 boys, there's a brief skirmish where Bright Eyes threatens a man and Vlad angrily slams his against the wall behind him, threatening him in Turkish. After they leave, Vlad next attempts to meet with Mehmed personally to plead for mercy, and finds a very nasty reception when he arrives at the camp, with the soldiers jeering him and even spitting at the

ground near him. And when his meeting with Mehmed doesn't yield any results, Vlad is forced to shamefully face Mirena when he and Bey's men meet up with them in the countryside in order to take Ingeras, as per the sultan's demands. Mirena becomes hysterical when she realizes what's happening and has to be restrained by Cazan and Dumitru, while Ingeras, hoping to make his father proud, agrees to go with the Turks. He and Vlad walk up to Bey, who winks at the boy and tells

Vlad he's made a wise decision, but also admits that he and his men expected him to put up more of a fight. Vlad then looks back at Mirena and, getting in close to Ingeras, tells him to run to his mother. Although he's confused, the boy does just that, and then, Vlad grabs Bey's sword, as he was forced to dispense with his own, quickly slices off both of his hands, and finishes him off with a slash across the torso. His men promptly attack but Vlad, despite being outnumbered, easily slaughters them all, stabbing them and also causing them to stab

each other, pinning them to the ground through their feet, and even punching several of them in the midst of the battle. When it's all over, the men lie dead on the ground, and Vlad has Dumitru take his wife and son back to the castle. Cazan warns him that he's ensured a war will break out but Vlad, looking at Broken Tooth Mountain, says he'll find a way to protect his people. He gets on his horse and tells Cazan, "Whatever horror's at Broken Tooth, I know it kills Turks," before riding back towards the mountain. He climbs his way up to the cave once

again and, inside, encounters the Master Vampire. After Vlad hears his voice and feels his presence all around him, the vampire extinguishes his torch, easily disarms him of his sword, and sizes him up by sniffing him. Following their conversation about Vlad's actions as the Impaler, the vampire decides to give him some of his power. After he explains the consequences of his giving into his inevitable bloodlust, he has Vlad drink some of his blood. When he does, Vlad asks, "What now?", and the vampire answers, "Now, you die." Vlad collapses to the ground and blacks out.

Following a flurry of horrific images that seem to suggest danger towards his family, he awakens that night, in a mountain stream. After gasping for air and rolling over onto his back, he finds that the silver ring he wears on his right hand now burns his flesh, and he's forced to remove it and toss it aside. He then attempts to stand up, only to smash a rock when he puts all the weight of his arm on it. And when he looks at the palm of his hand, he sees the cuts he received from the rock heal

immediately. Noting, "That's useful," he stands up and hears a sharp, jagged sound, which is then revealed to be a spider webbing up its catch. Vlad crouches down and listens to the sounds of the forest, as well as sees that he has a type of thermal vision which allows him to see in the dark and make out nearby animals in the woods across from him. He looks up at the sky and finds he's able to look past the cloud cover and see the stars, as well as a shooting star that goes by. He takes his ring

out of the water and, despite it burning him, opts to wear it around his neck. He hears distant booms and looks over at the treeline to see explosions off in the distance. Realizing they're coming from the direction of his castle, he rushes through the woods, at one point inadvertently turning himself into a cloud of bats and flying through the branches. After he returns to normal, he chuckles upon realizing how useful that power is and changes again, flying up through the trees and over the countryside towards Castle Dracula. The castle

is under attack from the Turks, who are hitting it with cannon-fire, while inside, everyone has gathered in a cathedral and are running to avoid being crushed by falling debris. Vlad enters and heads straight to his family, assuring Mirena that he will always come back to her and Ingeras. After telling her that he was searching for the strength to help them against the Turks, Vlad walks up some small steps and tells his frantic people, "They wanted our sons. A good prince would have given them up. A good prince would have paid that price for peace. But I give you my word, we will not be defeated! They brought war to your land! They will pay dearly for it."

As the Turks continue their attack, Vlad emerges from the castle gates. Seeing him, they all advance, while he uses his thermal vision to size up their numbers. He marches to meet them, then runs at them as they do the same to him. Letting out a furious roar, he charges into the midst of them, punching and side-swiping a good dozen or so, while dodging their weapons. He grabs one man and tosses him into the air in his bats form, then barrels through their ranks, becomes human again,

grabs one man, charges forward with him, and throws him into his comrades. He dodges one man's sword, kicks it out of his hand and into another soldier's torso, then takes his sword and slaughters numerous others who try to take him on, using his bats form to give him added agility. He bends the sword's blade around a soldier's own sword, distracting him enough to kick him back into his comrades, then takes another sword and slaughters numerous others, before managing to

hold of a flag and use it as a weapon, ultimately stabbing it halfway through one man's torso. As more of the soldiers gang up on him, this is the moment where he throws a sword that sticks in a man and reflects his continued decimation of the Turkish army until, by the time the man has fallen, Vlad has wiped out more than half of it. He takes the sword and goes to deal with the rest, with the camera panning up to the full moon in the sky, as soldiers are tossed upwards like rag-dolls. By the time it's all over, Vlad stands in the center of a

huge field covered with dead soldiers. He turns and heads back to the castle, where Dumitru and some of his own soldiers come to meet him, flabbergasted at what he's accomplished by himself. Vlad simply tells Dumitru, "Negotiations failed," adding to the others, "Do not ask me what happened on this field tonight. Trust only that I will use all I have to keep us safe." He then tells them they must head to the Cozia Monastery, and they begin the arduous trek; meanwhile Mehmed decides to personally lead 100,000 men in retaliation.

During this section, as they're staying out in the woods around Borgo Pass, we see Vlad beginning to feel the urge to feed on human blood. While he and some men are sitting around a campfire, the others are eating roasted pig, and he watches Dumitru, Cazan, and others chow down. It gets to him and he has to walk away. He goes into the tent he shares with Mirena, and the two of them attempt to get intimate, but when she throws her head back and bares her beck, he focuses on it, able to see the

jugular vein beneath the flesh. He's hit with imagery of the Master Vampire telling him to feed, as well as him baring his fangs and a shot of tears running from her eyes. He recoils away from her, terrified, and, putting his shirt back on, goes outside, saying he needs some air. He retreats into the woods outside of camp, only to come across Shkelgim, who he knows has been following him. After he offers him a cup of his blood and asks to to serve him, Vlad fiercely rebuffs him and sends

him away. But after Shkelgim slinks off, Vlad spies the spilled blood on the ground from the cup and is tempted by it. He reaches for it, hearing the Master Vampire's voice saying, "Fulfill your destiny," and then attempts to resist as best as he can. Elsewhere, Mehmed's troops come across a dying soldier, who tells the sultan he has a message from Vlad: "He hopes you enjoy the view,"; Mehmed then sees the sight of hundreds of his men impaled nearby. Back at the camp, Mirena awakens the next morning to find Vlad under a blanket near the edge of the tent,

shuddering in his sleep. She pulls back the blanket and rolls him over to see that his silver ring, which he's still wearing around his neck, is burning the flesh on his bare chest. She removes it, awakening him, and she then sees that the scars on his body are gone. With no other recourse, he reveals what he's become by cutting open the side of the tent, the sunlight slowly burning his body. Horrified, she pulls him away, and he explains he did this to himself, as well as that he has to resist the urge to feed on human blood for two more days. Though

shocked at this, when Vlad swears not to give in, Mirena decides to stick with him, assuring him that God will forgive him. Hearing from Dumitru that Mehmed's forces are getting closer, Vlad sends Mirena and everyone else on ahead to the monastery, while he has to remain behind and wait for sundown. Unbeknownst to them, a group of Turkish soldiers are waiting to intercept them near the monastery.

Once the sun goes down, Vlad explodes out of the tent in his bats form and heads to join the others. In the dark, foggy woods, they hear the sound of the monastery's tolling bells and press on. That's when the Turks ambush them and everyone scatters in a panic. Bright Eyes proves especially lethal in taking out the group's soldiers, though Dumitru proves to be a formidable foe for the Turks. Vlad then arrives and intercedes in the battle, while Dumitru, Mirena, and Ingeras find themselves

trapped on the edge of a gorge separating them from the monastery. Bright Eyes approaches, armed with a pair of blades, and Dumitru goes to defend Mirena and Ingeras. While Vlad makes more short work of the soldiers, staining a cage of their messenger pigeons with blood, Dumitru's attempt to fight off Bright Eyes ends with him getting slashed in the midsection. He tries to act as though it were nothing, but falls to the ground, with Bright Eyes flinging his blood off the blade 

and onto the plants. Mirena tells Ingeras to run and he does, while Bright Eyes closes in on Mirena, asking, "Where is your prince now, my lady?" He smiles evilly, but the tables are quickly turned when Vlad arrive and flies by him so fast that he barely comprehends what just happened. He does it again and again, backing the confused and frightened assassin closer to the edge of the cliff, then comes right at him, causing him to fall over the edge. Vlad turns to Dumitru, who crawls backwards up against a tree trunk and into a

slightly sitting position. Vlad tries to comfort him, seeing how badly wounded he is, but Dumitru is clearly unable to process what's become of his friend. Vlad tells him to listen to him, but Dumitru, after staring at him, lets out one last breath and passes away. Shaken by this, Vlad sees how fatal his injury was when he sees a lot of blood on his hand when he touches Dumitru's midsection. He then sees Ingeras standing nearby, on the verge of tears, and Vlad goes to comfort his son, scooping him up in his arms and embracing him. He

promises his son that he will always watch over him, embracing his wife as well, and the three of them meet up with the others at the monastery. Little do they know that Bright Eyes managed to grab some roots along the side of the cliff and is climbing his way back up.

Vlad readies his men at the monastery, hinting at something sinister behind a door in the armory, while Mehmed, hearing rumors about Vlad now being a monster, decides to blindfold his troops in an attempt to keep them from becoming frightened from facing him, then leads them towards the monastery. There, Brother Lucian notices how Vlad is avoiding direct contact with sunlight, and follows him into a building, where he continues to avoid it as it streams through the windows (by this

point, though, we've seen him unaffected by contact with slight rays from the sun, yet now, he side-steps even the faintest spot of it). Lucian confronts him about this, wielding a sword with a silver blade, and asks him to allow him to kill him before he becomes a full vampire by drinking human blood, as well as before his people find out. Vlad advises Lucian to run, and he responds by slicing open a section of the blinds, exposing Vlad to direct sunlight and burning some flesh off his

face. The sight of this sends everyone into a panic, and the soldiers go to burn the wooden building down. Mirena attempts to plead to everyone let Vlad explain himself, but they aren't having it and they set fire to it. Mirena has to be restrained and forced back, as Vlad can be heard yelling in pain and fury inside the fire, while the smoke rises up and blocks out the sun. Vlad's yells become monstrous, demonic roars and Mirena has one of her servants take Ingeras to her room to keep him from seeing this. Moments later, Vlad emerges

from the burning building, and Ingeras ends up seeing the whole thing, as he angrily shouts at and even threatens his people for their perceived disloyalty and ingratitude. It's only through Mirena's intervention and seeing how scared Ingeras is that Vlad backs down, heading into the chapel to pray. Later, with dawn approaching, Vlad sees the Turks coming and frets that he may soon lose his powers and be unable to defeat them.

With everyone looking at him pensively, Vlad walks out into the monastery's grounds and sees the Turks coming down a large canyon. He then notices some bats flying up into a nearby tower and walks in to see that a large colony have made it their home. He raises his hand up towards them and they respond by spreading their wings and screeching. Outside, hundreds more of them fly across the countryside, above the approaching Turks, converging on the monastery. Inside, everyone, including Mirena and Ingeras, look at

the army of bats Vlad has summoned with awe. Vlad, seeing the Turks getting ever closer, manipulates the bats into flying down at them, forming into the shape of a large hand, and blasting through them. Men are either blown through the air or attacked individually by the bats, and Vlad then has them fly up, form into a large fist, and slam down on the soldiers with enough force to send a powerful shock-wave through their ranks. Looking down at them, Vlad sees that there's one man on a white horse who, despite being attacked, is

ordering the others to stand their ground. Vlad transforms and flies down towards the troops, while his men open fire on the Turks with flaming arrows. While Vlad plows through more soldiers and knocks their apparent commander off his horse, the flaming arrows stick into a number of them. Reforming, Vlad, seeing the commander on the ground, covered in bats, storms at him and picks him up, thinking he's Mehmed. But just as he turns his fingernails into claws, he sees that the

man is a decoy. He demands to know where Mehmed is, while three Turk soldiers, Bright Eyes among them, sneak into the monastery and corner Miren and Ingeras in one of the towers. One of Vlad's generals is there with them and attempts to fight the intruders off, but is stabbed in the small of the back. Mirena sends Ingeras out, telling him to find his father, and they both run out of the room; after the assassins finish the general off, they follow after them. Dawn begins to break, and

Mirena and Ingeras head to where Vlad was commanding the bats, only to find him gone. Bright Eyes and another assassin corner them, and just as Vlad sees Mehmed hiding among his troops, Mirena is punched in the gut and kicked to the edge of the platform. The assassins take Ingeras, as Mirena grabs onto the ledge and lets out a yell, which Vlad hears. He transforms again and rushes back to the monastery, as Mirena attempts to pull herself back onto the ledge. The one assassin watches her futile struggle, when Vlad blows through and blasts him off the ledge. He transforms back on the ledge, as the sun begins to rise up into the sky, and that's when Mirena loses her grip on the platform's loose stone floor and falls.

In a sequence scored only by a solemn song, with the sound effects muted, Vlad flies down after Mirena, his hand stretched out, trying to reach her. But, because of the rising sun's effect, he's unable to and the Turks watch as she hits the ground nearby. Ingeras, sitting on the back of Mehmed's horse, becomes distraught over this, while the sultan and his men turn and march back through the canyon. While Vlad has Mirena in his arms, desperately trying to figure out how to save her, the monastery is stormed and nearly everyone is

slaughtered. Though mortally wounded, Mirena comes to and, seeing the sun, offers to allow Vlad to feed on her and become a fully-fledged vampire, saying it's the only way he can save their son. Vlad, of course, is reluctant to go through with it, but Mirena pleads with him to do it while he still can. With a tear rolling down his face, he bares his fangs and bites into her neck; miles away, the Master Vampire senses this and walks out of his cave, watching as the sun disappears behind a black cloud, the result of Vlad's newfound power

and solemn fury. While the Master silently rejoices in his newfound freedom, Vlad lets out a mournful yell after both killing his beloved wife and forever damning himself. He then returns to the monastery to find everyone either dead or dying. Looking at one of his soldiers, as he leans up against a wall, he asks him if he wants vengeance and the man gently nods. Vlad bites into his own wrist and drips the blood into the man's mouth, instantly rejuvenating him once he's drank it. He then looks around at the

others who are near death, Cazan among them, and heads into the armory and opens the door containing that which he said he hoped he would never have to use again: his Lord Impaler armor. In the next scene, with Mirena lying on a pyre, and Vlad standing over her, he says, "I now know hell is real, so I know there is a heaven. Neither this world or the next shall keep us apart. I will honor your sacrifice and I vow that our son shall be safe."

On a large, barren plain, where the Turks have set up camp, one of Mehmed's generals notices a violent storm moving in from the east, and also that it's much darker than it should be. The other soldiers notice the storm, which has bright, violent flashes of lightning shooting out all over the place. The general wonders what it is and Mehmed, seeing a lone figure walking ahead of the storm, comments, "It is the prince. He is coming." Vlad then silently orders his newly-created vampire army to attack, and they descend upon the Turks'

campsite, savaging anybody they can grab onto. One soldier charges at a young woman and swings his sword at her, only for her to become a mass of bats, reform, and quickly bite into his neck. Mehmed sends his general and Bright Eyes into battle, as more soldiers are savaged. The general takes cover in a tent, where he falls prey to Cazan, while Bright Eyes faces off with Vlad himself. Vlad easily deals with the assassin, running him through with his own blade and sticking him to a wooden flagpole. Bright Eyes tries to remove the

blade, only to be faced with the young man he tried to strong-arm before, who finishes him off with a bite to the neck. Amid the carnage, Vlad heads to Mehmed's large tent and walks inside, only to find that the sultan has prepared for this battle. Wielding a silver sword, he's also covered the floor between them with the very silver coins Vlad sent to him as a tribute. Despite the weakening effect it has on him, he walks across the coins towards Mehmed, who dumps more on the floor by cutting

open a bag hanging from the ceiling. He also tosses one of the coins to Vlad and he instinctively catches it, enduring its burning effect. He then hears and sees Ingeras nearby, as Mehmed says, "He is waiting for you." Vlad makes his way around and towards Mehmed, both of them brandishing their swords, but the abundant silver begins to interfere with Vlad's vision and strength.

It's clear just how much he's been affected when Mehmed very easily manages to dodge two swings of his sword and counter him many more times. While their swords are locked, Mehmed knees Vlad, then decks him in the face, sliding him across the silver coins, and then manages to block his sword, before easily disarming him and knocking him face-first into the silver. Mehmed, thinking him no challenge otherwise, allows him to take back his sword. Vlad slinks into the dark to catch his breath, with Mehmed noting his growing

weakness. He asks, "Tell me, how long can you bare it in here? Huh?", and Vlad, looking at Ingeras, answers, "Long enough to strike your name from the history books." Vlad charges at him, managing to push past a volley of coins that he throws at him, and the two of them continue their duel, only for Mehmed to slash open more bags, raining coins down on Vlad. He screams in pain, and Mehmed takes the opening to grab and slam him against the wall, punch him repeatedly in the face, and kick him through a screen. Vlad smashes

his head into a wooden crate, out of which spill even more coins. He lies amid them, too weak to stand up, and Mehmed approaches him, telling the distraught and frantic Ingeras, "Take a last look at your father, Ingeras. Look how pathetic he is." Mehmed rips a sharp rod of wood from the crate, noting that staking him through the heart will kill him, and stands over him, saying, "A fitting death for Lord Impaler." He goes to plunge the stake into Vlad, but he grabs his hand and holds him back

with what strength he has left, while his armor, for some reason, gradually disintegrates below the stake's tip (I don't understand what's going on there; maybe it's due to the silver?). Just as it looks like Vlad is done for, when he sees Ingeras, he gets enough strength and willpower to become a mass of bats, fly out from under Mehmed, right himself, and stake the sultan instead. Declaring himself to now be, "Dracula, Son of the Devil," he finishes Mehmed off by biting into his neck and feeding on his blood. When he finishes, he lets out an anguished scream and throws the dead sultan into the coins.

Vlad leads Ingeras out of the tent, assuring him that he's safe now. They meet up with Cazan, who confirms he and the others have killed all the Turks, indicating that Ingeras is the only human left. He then hints that they should get rid of him, and confirms his intention to do so as the other vampires move in towards them. Cazan bares his fangs and lunges at Ingeras, but Vlad quickly impales him through the heart, telling him, "You forget... who I am." Cazan then roars as Vlad sticks the other end of the spear into the ground and he

violently disintegrates as a result, until nothing remains but bones. The other vampires prepare to attack as well, when they're repelled when Brother Lucian (again, I don't how he survived the attack on the monastery) appears, wielding a crucifix. As they back away, he tries to make Ingeras come with him, something he's unwilling to do. Vlad, however, knows the monk is right and tells his son to go with him, adding that he will always love him and embraces him one last time, before pushing him towards Lucian. With Ingeras, screaming for

his father, in his grasp, Lucian backs away, continuing to repel the vampires until they're out of their midst. Once they're gone, Vlad looks up to the sky and says, "He's safe now, Mirena." He then parts the clouds and bathes the field in sunlight, disintegrating and destroying all the vampires, and burning himself almost down to the bone. Sadly, Ingeras sees all of it and is even more traumatized, while Vlad lets out a final tortured yell and collapses to the ground. In a final montage, Ingeras

is shown being crowned the new prince of Transylvania, while Shkelgim uses his own blood to revive Vlad. The last scene is in the modern era, where Vlad comes upon a young woman named Mina Murray in London, who looks an awful lot like Mirena. What's more, a poem that bonded the two of them is revealed to Mina's personal favorite. This breaks the ice and the two of them walk off together, unaware that the Master Vampire is watching and then follows them. (It's been rumored that the filmmakers learned of Universal's planned Dark Universe and added this epilogue at the last minute to try to tie it in, although this was denied.)

The music score is by Ramin Djawadi, who's done music for films such as Iron Man, Clash of the Titans, and Pacific Rim, among others. But, while those scores certainly attest to his talents as a composer, his music for Dracula Untold is about as forgettable as the movie itself. In fact, there are only a few pieces of the score that I can comment on, and even then, I'm sure they'll leave my head when the review is done. The Master Vampire has a pretty memorable leitmotif, which comes to full fruition when Vlad gives in and he's set free, sounding fairly epic, with vocalizing male voices. The music that plays when Vlad sends Ingeras away with Lucian and attempts to destroy himself and the other vampires is effectively emotional. But, while it's also memorable, the soft song that accompanies Vlad's failure to save Mirena and the slaughter of everyone at the monastery comes off as melodramatic and trying too hard, rather than effectively poignant. Other than that, the music is just very generic and not at all memorable, making it rather fitting in a way.

Out of all the movies we've looked at this month, Dracula Untold has to be the one that left the least impact, both on me and in general. Despite being a fairly decent-sized hit, it's been virtually forgotten, and there's good reason for that, as it's so ho-hum and inconsequential. While it does benefit from a pretty good performance by Luke Evans, in a somewhat affecting sympathetic portrayal of Dracula, a memorable character in the Master Vampire, fair cinematography and location-work, and decent enough special effects, for the most part, it rings hollow in the end. Many of the characters are uninteresting, the villains are so exaggerated, the story is not only not that special but tends to telegraph itself constantly, the look of the many nighttime scenes makes it hard to enjoy the action scenes and can also drive you nuts as to what time of the day it is, the action scenes are "meh" in and of themselves, the music score isn't that great or memorable, and, on the whole, it's the worst kind of forgettable popcorn movie. While I could recommend movies like Van Helsing and The WolfMan to certain people, I don't see how Dracula Untold could appeal to anybody in particular.