Review of Dracula Untold (2014) by Prosthetics — 11 Oct 2014

A lot of ruined potential. In the movie, Vlad is portrayed as a hero, loved by his people, with a past of some things he was not proud of. In the movie, Vlad fights valiantly to defend his family and his people, doing whatever it takes to defeat insurmountable odds. This is quite the contrary to what the actual Vlad was, both historically and in Stoker's novel. Obviously the character was morphed to be a lovable guy to appeal to audiences. Instead of being a dark, suspenseful, horror movie that befits the actual Vlad, the movie is a action oriented, root for this guy movie that Hollywood is already saturated with. Putting aside the clear morphing of established story/lore for appeal, the movie clearly cuts some tones down to cut the PG-13 rating. Anything Vlad should, naturally, be rated R in my opinion, but again, this movie is made to appeal to teenagers and heart-throb desiring women, so that is disappointing.

I wouldn't say that the movie is terrible, but it is not good either. Way too much lost potential in the story, the characters, and the atmosphere. Parts of the story leave the viewer hanging, not knowing what becomes of those story arcs. The ending of the movie sets up for a sequel, and I can only hope that it plugs the huge gaps in this movie, and takes a darker turn for what many of us expect out of Vlad.