Dracula: The Dark Prince (DVD)
Lionsgate / 2013 / 92 mins / R
The Film:
I started writing this review two days after having viewed the film and for I couldn't quite remember the movie Dracula: The Dark Prince. Usually I think a lot about a film after I've seen it, letting all my thoughts and emotions stew until they solidified into a review. And yet I sat down with the copy I had watched no more than 48 hours ago trying to remember just what the heck happened. I popped the DVD back in and it all started coming back to me like a bad dream you'd forgotten.
It's not that Dracula: The Dark Prince was a particularly badly made film. In fact, I love writing about bad films. It's the dull and boring films that really get to me and become just as forgettable as the bland title of this movie. I was willing to give it a chance with such a strong prologue told through action-packed flashbacks and some rather impressive visual illustrations. It sets a great tone for what should be a fun piece of fantasy.
The prince Dracula (Luke Roberts) renounces his original faith in Christianity after his bride is murdered by his trusted men. Turning to the dark vampiric lifestyle, Dracula now mingles about in his ghastly castle while his minions comb the land for victims and potential threats to his rule. While the biggest opposition to his vampire being is the legendary weapon known as the Lightbringer, Dracula becomes preoccupied by a captured crusader named Alina (Kelly Wenham) who happens to be a dead-ringer for his wife. Leading the rescue party for Alina and the Lightbringer is the legendary hunter Van Helsing (Jon Voight), the gleeful mentor to an assembled group of warriors. They journey to Dracula's castle while battling all kinds of undead creatures that include vampires and the obligatory big-scary-guy-in-the-armor-with-horns-on-his-helmet character.
On paper it sounds like an enjoyable romp, but it ends up becoming so routine with too many cliche moments and bland action scenes. There are far too many familiar scenes that paint by the numbers and follow the standard hero's journey. It also has one of the most unintentionally silly romantic montages I've seen in a long time. The battles themselves are the biggest let down with hardly any blood and edited in a clumsy manner better suited for a PG-13 affair. The only reason this film even has an R rating is for some gratuitous nudity occupying their own shots. Cut them out and this is ready to air on SyFy (where it'll most likely end up on a lazy weekend).
The only saving grace is the fantastic acting by Jon Voight and the hammy performance of Luke Roberts. They do their best, but there just isn't enough here for them to work with. Dracula is written quite well for this film, but I just didn't get to see enough of this sympathetic villain to really dig into the title character. The special effects are TV-quality, the fight scenes too by-the-book and the entire plot as whole just feels like it's going through the motions. It's not that a low-budget fantasy can't work; heck, just look at Solomon Kane. It makes great use of the budget it had and actually had a unique angle. This film, however, is like Chinese fast food. It looks good and tastes decent, but you're ultimately not satisfied feeling as though you haven't really seen a fantasy/action movie that you thought you'd previously viewed.
The Disc:
The video here is presented in 2.40:1 widescreen which is rather unusual for a production such as this. The transfer looks sufficient even if it doesn't bode well for the budgeted effects. The 5.1 Dolby Digital track is a decent mix with equal levels between dialogue, music and sound effects.
The Extras:
Extras include a round of interviews with the cast on portraying their characters, audio commentary and a short featurette on the special effects behind the castle of the film.
Our Say:
Dracula: The Dark Prince is doomed to be forgotten if not for its dull direction then for the uncreative title. It's slightly more competent than a lot of other films in this genre, but there's nothing really noteworthy here to fish it out of the pile. It's a decent rental at best.
