Review: ‘Dracula Untold (2014)’
April 29, 2022 | Dara Marie | @thornfield_laneDracula Untold (2014) is aptly named as it does exactly what the title implies: shows the origins of Bram Stoker’s famous bloodsucking villain.
In it we see Luke Evans as Prince Vlad III, the Impaler, ruling over his small Romanian kingdom, Transylvania. The entire kingdom views him as their savior, having fought for peace in their name. This peace is threatened when the Turkish sultan warlord demands 1,000 young boys–including Vlad’s son–to build his army. Vlad refuses and the Turks waste no time dispatching an army on the small supplicants.
Knowing his tiny kingdom cannot withstand the Turks on their own, Vlad searches for strength beyond his own by going to the rumored demon in the mountains: a man who was cursed by the devil to live forever and feed off blood. A vampire. He bargains to take the vampire’s curse upon himself, releasing the demon’s soul, but the creature is skeptical. He gives the prince his blood, telling him he can test the curse’s powers for three days. If he goes that time without feeding on human blood, he will return to his mortal state. However, if he feeds, the curse will fully pass to him for eternity.
Dun, dun, dunh!
I’m going to be honest with you, I didn’t really care for this movie.
Ok, no. It’s less that I ‘disliked it’ and more that it disappointed me. It had so much potential it let go to waste! I’m aware I’m often a harsh critic–especially with things based off books–but I really did try to keep an open mind. The concept fascinated me and I wanted to enjoy it.
Dracula is one of the most recognized stories, images, characters, and names in pop culture and has been for years. It’s a story we all know the ending to: good conquers evil. Yet, we don’t know the beginning. Not the true beginning, anyway. All we know when innocent Jonathon Harker falls into Dracula’s lair is that the Count is centuries old.
This creates a real challenge. How to keep an audience’s attention when they already know the ending? Well, it must be surprising, compelling, and original.
And I think it might have gotten to the writer’s heads. They tried to do too much too fast. I have nothing against fantasy as a genre. My issue comes when writers and creators rely too heavily on magic and their world’s fantastical elements that they neglect reality. Elements of basic humanity must be present in even the most unrealistic setting to best suspend our level of disbelief while keeping us connected to the characters’ struggles. Balance is required; or at last, humanity needs to out weight the fantasy by a single hair.
In this, both humanity and fantasy were dialed up to 1000%.
This story shows a human side of Dracula. He has a wife, a son, loyal subjects who he works to protect at every move. He is a selfless protector, nurturer, king. He bargains with the devil–almost literally–to help others; he thinks nothing of himself. He fervently resists the darkness by fighting the urge to feed; he even prays, knowing God may not answer because of the dark magic deal he made. Beyond optimistic, he believes he’ll use the power only for good and when the three days are up, will return to his normal state.
Perfect character set up if I’ve ever seen it, oh my gosh. This engages me beyond belief because I know where this character will end up in a few hundred years. I want to know what makes him shift. Who does he feed on first? Why? When? I was waiting to see a slow descent into darkness; the righteous hero in over his head giving into temptation. That is juicy storytelling.
But, no. No, no. That is far too much to ask for apparently.
Vlad remains the good guy–the righteous hero–the entire time. When he does finally feeds, it’s because a character is literally begging him and he again reconciles the decision because he’ll only use it for good… Seriously?!
The man is essentially morally flawless. He never ‘ticks’. There was a fabulous scene where he starts to give into the darkness, and I was on the edge of my seat with anticipation because that is what I’d been waiting for. I wasn’t disappointed when another character consoled him out of his rage–had also expected that. I was, however, upset when they never revisited that scene.
In the end, I’m not convinced he’s Dracula. At least not Bram Stoker’s Dracula. An alternate reality version of him, maybe. The purpose of a villain origin story is to create understanding, not undying love.
In terms of fantasy, it was also a slow burn of throwing reality out the window. The first time he uses his power, I believed it. He could run faster than wind, hear people’s heartbeats, manipulate animals and weather. These are all things mentioned in the original novel. But then, it just keeps going. And going. Lightning comes out of his eyes. He creates his own army of vampires who he destroys as soon as they complete his purpose. It just completely lost touch with reality for me.
I about flipped my laptop in frustration during the final scene. I won’t spoil it here but this a word for word, unedited note I took during that scene:
Absolutely not. Stop it. Stop it right now.
Every movie or book is allowed one or two cheesy lines. This one just kept going. The one I slapped my forehead and shook my head at the most had to be: Sometimes the world doesn’t need a hero. Sometimes what it needs is a monster.
Nope. I’m sorry, but no.
Beyond that, it felt incredibly white washed with a predominately English cast. Don’t get me wrong: I love British men as much as the next girl. But something about Dominic Cooper given a tan with a modern low fade haircut, speaking in a forced accent as the Turkish sultan villain does not sit right with me.
While I’ve mainly focused on the negatives, I do want to highlight a few key redeeming points in the film’s favor.
The setting and story are, for the most part, historically accurate to what we know of Vlad III who partially inspired the famous vampire villain. The changes were minor and I was able to forgive them.
The name alone of ‘Castle Dracula’ is iconic to any book fans and this movie takes it to gorgeous heights. The castle is phenomenal, as is the Romanian terrain. I was stunned by the landscapes: rocky cliffs, forested mountains, babbling streams, rumbling storm clouds. It made me want to spend all my college tuition money on a one way flight to get lost in that other worldly atmosphere.
Along with the setting, the costumes are top-notch. I especially loved Vlad’s red dragon armor which pays homage to the meaning of the name ‘Dracula’ as ‘son of the dragon’.
Luke Evans as prince Vlad was by far its biggest redemption. He was fabulous in this role despite an often questionable plot, script, and special effects. He worked well within what he was given in a way any actor would be proud of. I’m honestly upset for him, wishing he had been given better material to work with.
So, is it worth the watch? Sure. If you’re not sentimentally attached to Dracula and crazing some special effects fantasy battles. Will I personally re-watch it? Most likely no.
I’m just so disappointed. It had every potential. It’s movies like this that make me want to get into script writing just so I can give literature the adaptations it deserves.
Have you seen Dracula Untold (2014)? What did you think? Do you agree or disagree with me? I'd love to hear from you! You can connect with me through thornfield.lane@gmail.com or on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Twitter: @thornfield_lane.
