The story of Dracula is certainly not a new one, and since Bram Stoker penned his original novel, it has been the subject of countless adaptations. On October 10th, the latest adaptation Dracula: Untold was released to movie theaters, doing fairly well at the box office but failing to leave fang-like impressions on the critics.
Released by Universal Pictures, who intended it to be a reboot of their 30s and 40s monster franchises, Dracula: Untold spins an origin tale of the infamous vampire, attempting to couple the fictional Stoker tale with the real life inspiration Vlad the Impaler, though it shouldn’t be credited with being historically accurate. When Vlad’s kingdom is being attacked by an army of Turkish soldiers, he seeks the assistance of a cave dwelling vampire for the strength to vanquish his enemies, but needs to decide whether or not he wants to be a bloodsucker for eternity.
The story of the film is surprisingly solid and well thought out. Luke Evans does a great job as Vlad, being one of the only adaptations of Dracula to make the viewer sympathize with the internal struggle Dracula goes through. The action sequences are well paced and always entrancing, often accompanied with astounding visuals and larger than life set pieces. The gothic castles and spooky woods put you in the mood for a good ol’ fashioned monster movie.
There are flaws, though. The action is intense but in a PG-13 sort of way. This leads to a lot of sloppy cuts and nauseating shaky cam to hide the bloody impalings. The first third of the film is painfully slow, being burdened with too much frontloaded exposition. Also, the dialogue is far too heavy. It’s all loaded with cliched philosophy, and it seems like every trivial conversation transforms into a battle of wits.
In the end, Dracula: Untold is pretty good but nothing spectacular. If you’re a gore hound looking for some brutal violence or if you’re looking for an intense horror movie, you’ve come to the wrong place. But, I can guarantee that Dracula: Untold is a fun little monster movie that can be enjoyed for what it is. Plus, it makes the vampire movie something worth going to see again. That’s right: no sparkling.
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