There are always two sides to each story … even when it comes to the most evil of villains.
Dracula Untold is a movie that revamps the entire story of the evil monster we know as Dracula in such an unexpected and refreshing way. The film starts off with Prince Vlad (Luke Evans) finding Turkish armor in a nearby stream which leads him to investigate how and why he found such a thing in his land. This curiosity takes him to a desolate cave on top of an ominous looking mountain where he soon encounters a monster of its own kind, a vampire. Narrowly escaping the cave with his life, Vlad heads back to his palace where he is soon confronted by Turkish soldiers who demand a tribute of 1000 boys to fuel the Turkish army. Vlad, being the noble hero he is, sets out to confront his old friend, the Sultan of the Turkish empire, in hopes of negotiating a way in which he does not need to deliver the boys to the army. Sadly, his request is denied and in staying true to his beliefs and people, Vlad declares an act of war against this massive empire and it is his job to protect his people, by any means necessary, even if it means turning into the monster everyone is so afraid of.
What this movie did that was interesting was that it ignored the whole idea of Dracula being such a reviled and evil creature, but instead gave the figure that most people know a different backstory and giving him a more noble backstory and you may sympathize with him. This version takes a completely different route in the story which is commendable because it was such a risk. The film had a lot of action scenes featuring a lot of blood and gore, but to those who like the constant stream of limbs being tossed about; this is a movie for you. The special effects were very good and very realistic, which is the best feature about this film. Although the plot is somewhat generic in a sense, the effects and action scenes will keep you entertained. With this film the most bothersome thing about it was that the people, who are supposedly all from Transylvania and have been living there for a good amount of time, had a vast array of accents. This may be nitpicking, but Vlad’s wife Mirena (Sarah Gadon), had an English accent. But people who enjoy a movie that features a plethora of gruesome, bloodbath scenes, this is a movie for you.
The film hits theaters Friday October 10, 2014.
-Vinesh Vora
