Reboot with a bite

Well, here’s a turn up for the books. Being what must be the hundredth film adaption of Bram Stoker’s classic Gothic horror novel, my expectations were low for this latest reboot of the vampire classic.

However, by tweaking the formula significantly and basing the plot on Dracula’s origins, along with centralising the eponymous character as the protagonist rather than the villain, Dracula Untold is a refreshing and very enjoyable movie.

Although many have claimed Stoker-based Dracula on Vlad the Impaler, here we are explicitly told from the prologue that the legendary Romanian hero is in fact the man who evolves into the infamous blood-sucking monster.

When we first meet Vlad (Evans) in person, we learn that he was captured as a child and forced to grow up serving in the army of an Ottoman sultan, where he gained distinction as a fine soldier, with a fearsome reputation for impaling his conquered foes on spears and leaving them on the battlefield as trophies.

However, for the opening act, we see very little of Vlad’s brutal side. Quite the opposite in fact; he is merely a prince of a small rural community in Transylvania. Of course, this doesn’t last too long, as when the new sultan of the Turks, Mehmet (Cooper), comes asking for tribute of both coin and 1,000 boys (including Vlad’s own son Ingeras) to swell his army’s ranks, Vlad responds by slaughtering the emissaries.

Faced with Mehmet’s wrath and his impending war machine, Vlad journeys to Broken Tooth Mountain to find a way to save his family and his people. There he encounters the Roman emperor Caligula (Dance), now a scarred but powerful demon who offers him a Faustian bargain: limitless power to defeat his enemies, but afflicted with an insatiable thirst for human blood.

What impressed me most about this adaption was how successfully the director cajoles the audience into rooting for Vlad and willing the vampire to control his powers and use them for the good of his people.

Ever since Christopher Lee donned the cape back in the late 1950s, we have rooted for many a vampire hunter to drive a stake through the Count’s heart and willed many more damsels in distress to escape his clutches without their necks being punctured. Now we are expected to turn this trope on its head and root for him.

Of course, this would not be possible without a very strong performance from the cast. Evans delivers in style, managing to switch from brooding and vicious when face-to-face with his enemies, to anguished and vulnerable when suffering from the effects of his condition, but also sympathetic when his family is in danger.

The chemistry between Vlad and his wife and child feels natural. When they’re threatened, we’re willing for them to pull through together and return to their happy existence free from threat.

In this extreme period of torture and depression, also known as ‘The gap between Game of Thrones seasons’, the surprise of seeing Charles Dance make a cameo appearance brought me immense joy. He only has a short scene, but it was the best part of the movie thanks to his incredible vocal delivery and mannerisms that I’ve sorely missed seeing since June.

It wouldn’t be a Dracula movie without the traditional Gothic architecture and a creepy atmosphere, and the cinematography is certainly impressive. Broken Tooth Mountain pierces the landscape and looks suitably foreboding, Dracula’s castle has the sharp, jagged edges you’d expect on the outside, but a lavish and welcoming interior, while the costume design is finely detailed and authentic.
 
Much of the film seems to have been painted in shades of grey, which considering the title character’s affinity with darkness is not necessarily a bad thing. However, during some of the battles it can get a bit too dark, to the extent that it’s very difficult to distinguish which side is which and the action is hard to follow.

Speaking of the bad guys, a stronger villain would have strengthened the film considerably; Cooper’s Mehmet has some great dialogue but unfortunately he lacks the physical presence to be a worthy adversary.

He looks a bit daft, never mind completely unthreatening, with his foundation and eyeliner, and it is never believable for one moment he could defeat Vlad in a physical confrontation.

Furthermore, despite the connotations of ‘Dracula’ in the film title, it was disappointing that the script was almost entirely devoid of horror elements. It certainly seems like the producers deliberately toned down certain aspects in order to secure a lower age rating. Incorporating a little more tension and a pinch of the unknown into the movie would have made it even better.

Alas, despite these small gripes, this is a rare treat in the modern cinema landscape: a fully-justified reboot. Immensely enjoyable and a terrific insight into how far a man is prepared to go to save the ones he loves, this is a refreshing take on the Dracula legend that twists our expectations of the story. This is a Dracula tale I am glad wasn’t left untold.

* Showing in Cineco, Seef I, Seef II, Saar Cineplex, Al Jazeera Cineplex