Dracula Film Analysis

Vlad III (Luke Evans) is famous for impaling his enemies on the battlefield. As a boy he was handed over to the Ottoman Turkish Empire, but this tradition stops and therefore Vlad’s kingdom is lured into a false sense of security. In 1462 his wife (Sarah Gadon), son (Art Parkinson) and people who are enjoying living in peace are threatened once again by the Ottoman and told to release one thousand of their sons to the empire. Desperation leads Vlad onto a dark path and he plans to make a deal with an old, strong vampire lurking in a forsaken cave. Seeing no other choice, he becomes a vampire and with this he has strength and speed unmatched by no other man. But it also means that he is weakened by silver and cannot venture out into the sun.
Nosferatu was the first adaptation in 1922, followed by Hammer’s Dracula Collection (1958-1974) featuring Christopher Lee, Dracula Lord of the Dammed (2011), Dracula Reborn (2012), Dracula (2013) and many more. All of these adaptations have had varying amounts of success, but so many have been made so it begs the question did we really need another to add to this long list? Throughout the years Dracula’s character has been revised so many times, transforming dependent on Hollywood’s needs at the time. Original representations of Dracula are one dimensional and the silent figures are given no human qualities. Christopher Lee who was famously given very little lines for his portrayal said in an interview with Total Film, “all they do is write a story and try and fit the character in somewhere, which is very clear when you see the films. They gave me nothing to do! I pleaded with Hammer to let me use some of the lines that Bram Stoker had written. Occasionally, I sneaked one in.” More recent adaptations tend to have a more contemporary take on the character. In a more advanced society we aspire to have more open minds and therefore it is natural for a modern audience to want to understand why Dracula does the things he does. What makes this recent adaptation stand out from the others is its setting. In Dracula Reborn (2012) the whole film is set in the present day and it has not been much of a success because it completely loses the character of the narrative. Meanwhile, Dracula Untold is set in 15th Century Transylvania and therefore emulates the success of Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones because we are transported into an equally mysterious world from a different time period. It suffices our need for historical knowledge and the pleasure we get from taking a look at how people lived in another time. The representation of 15th Century Transylvania is not an accurate one because it is sexed