Dracula: The Dark Prince

Last updated
Dracula: The Dark Prince
Directed by Pearry Reginald Teo
Written byNicole Jones-Dion
Steven Paul
Pearry Reginald Teo
Produced bySteven Paul
Starring
CinematographyViorel Sergovici
Edited byStephen Eckelberry
Robert A. Ferretti
Music byMario Grigorov
Production
company
Castel Film Romania
Distributed by Lionsgate Home Entertainment
Sony
SP Sales Worldwide
Release date
  • October 15, 2013 (2013-10-15)
Running time
100 minutes
Country
  • United States
LanguageEnglish

Dracula: The Dark Prince is a 2013 American fantasy horror film directed by Pearry Reginald Teo and written by Nicole Jones-Dion and Steven Paul. [1] The film stars Luke Roberts, Jon Voight, Kelly Wenham and Ben Robson. [2] [3] Dracula: The Dark Prince is an (R) Rated film due to some violence and Sexuality/Nudity. [4] The film was shot in Romania and was released on October 15, 2013.

Contents

Plot

Dracula, a Romanian prince, Knight of the Secret Order of the Dragon, and direct descendant of Abel, is charged with vanquishing the Turks from his homeland. While on the campaign, he appoints his wife Elizabeth to rule in his place. However, when he returns, he finds his wife and knights have been murdered by his advisers, who were unhappy with his ways. He murders them but spares one, who remained loyal; with the aid of a faithful squire (who is fatally wounded), an enraged Dracula turns against God and is cursed to spend an eternity in loneliness.

Centuries later, a group of keepers is attacked by a monstrous undead armoured figure known as Wrath in their quest to find the Lightbringer, the only weapon that can kill Dracula. Sisters Alina and Esme are entrusted to bring the Lightbringer to Leonardo Van Helsing as their guards ward off an attack. A band of thieves led by Lucian finds the sisters and steals the Lightbringer. Leonardo arrives just before the band is attacked by Wrath and his undead. During the struggle, Lucian manages to activate the Lightbringer, revealing that he is a descendant of Cain and able to wield the weapon. He manages to injure Wrath with the weapon, but most of the thieves are killed, and Alina is kidnapped by Wrath and brought to Dracula.

Dracula recognizes Alina as his murdered bride and instructs his advisor Renfield to protect her, during which time Leonardo tells a skeptical Lucian about his lineage. The group discovers that the Lightbringer is activated by Lucian's blood, killing the undead, and Leonardo says that with Dracula's blood, it could bring the dead to life. At the castle, Alina attempts to leave but is stopped by one of the new residents, Demetria, who shows her the dining room and says that they like living there. As she becomes entranced by the atmosphere, the courtiers, who are revealed to be vampires, attempt to bite her, but Dracula rescues Alina just in time.

At Betriz, Esme, Leonardo, and Lucian arrive at a gathering of demon hunters, where they meet Andros, an axe-wielding giant hunter who looks to avenge his sister, taken long ago. Leonardo tells how one who is bitten can either suffer forever, become a slave, or be killed. Andros decides to join the group to find Dracula's castle. Wrath and his undead once again attack the group but is mortally wounded by the Lightbringer. He returns to the castle and is revived by Dracula.

At the castle, Dracula offers Alina his wife's necklace. The necklace grants Alina his wife's memories, and she sees how Dracula was a tender lover long ago. Dracula later shows her the night sky and speaks to her of his search for his lost love. Later still, the couple dance and Dracula tells her his hope- that he will be able to use the Lightbringer to prevent God from ever taking someone's love from them again.

Outside, the group finds Dracula's castle with the aid of the Lightbringer and infiltrates it. As the group split up to look for Alina, Leonardo is defeated by Wrath and bitten by his vampires. Demetria, who is revealed to be Andros' long-lost sister, tries to bite him before Esme kills her. Lucian finds Alina, and the two rendezvous with the group, but the castle's vampires awaken and attack. During the ensuing fight, Leonardo uses his crossbow to break the ceiling, letting in the daylight and allowing the group to escape. Wrath catches up with the group, but Andros embeds his axe into him, using him as an anchor, which helps the group to fast-rope down to safety. Wrath is pulled into the light and dies.

The group gathers demon hunters outside and storm the castle. As one of Dracula's knight attempt to harm Alina, she calls to him, and Dracula protects her, turning on his knights. Renfield (overseeing the battle) bites Lucian and uses his blood to wound Dracula as he is holding Alina. Renfield reveals that he is the one who led the betrayal of Dracula and the actual one who killed Erzebet. He prepares to kill Alina, but Esme kills Renfield. Lucian stops Andros from attacking Dracula, almost fatally wounded, and Alina helps him to his coffin. As she begs him to heal himself, he tells her, "Let me spend these last moments with you; it is better than a century alone."

Lucian vanishes into the wilderness with a broken heart, Leonardo's descendants continue to hunt vampires, and Alina continues to wait to be reunited with her love, Dracula.

Cast

Reception

Flickering Myth reviewed the film as having "lacklustre direction, cheap sets [and] poor CGI". [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abraham Van Helsing</span> Fictional character created by Bram Stoker

Professor Abraham Van Helsing is a fictional character from the 1897 gothic horror novel Dracula written by Bram Stoker. Van Helsing is a Dutch polymath doctor with a wide range of interests and accomplishments, partly attested by the string of letters that follows his name: "MD, D.Ph., D.Litt., etc.", indicating a wealth of experience, education and expertise. He is a doctor, professor, lawyer, philosopher, scientist, and metaphysic. The character is best known through many adaptations of the story as a vampire slayer, monster hunter and the arch-nemesis of Count Dracula, and the prototypical and the archetypical parapsychologist in subsequent works of paranormal fiction. Some later works tell new stories about Van Helsing, while others, such as Dracula (2020) and I Woke Up a Vampire (2023) have characters that are his descendants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renfield</span> Fictional character from Bram Stokers Dracula

R. M. Renfield is a fictional character who appears in Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula. He is Count Dracula's deranged, fanatically devoted servant and familiar, helping him in his plan to turn Mina Harker into a vampire in return for a continuous supply of insects to consume and the promise of immortality. Throughout the novel, he resides in an asylum, where he is treated by Dr. John Seward.

<i>Dracula: Dead and Loving It</i> 1995 film

Dracula: Dead and Loving It is a 1995 comedy horror film directed by Mel Brooks and starring Leslie Nielsen. It is a spoof of Bram Stoker's novel Dracula and of some of the story's well-known adaptations.

<i>Dracula</i> (1979 film) 1979 British horror film directed by John Badham

Dracula is a 1979 gothic horror film directed by John Badham. The film starred Frank Langella in the title role as well as Laurence Olivier, Donald Pleasence and Kate Nelligan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mina Harker</span> Fictional character

Wilhelmina "Mina" Harker is a fictional character and the main female character in Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brides of Dracula</span> Characters in Bram Stokers 1897 novel Dracula

The Brides of Dracula are fictional characters in Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula. They are three seductive vampire "sisters" who reside with Count Dracula in his castle in Transylvania, where they entice men with their beauty and charm, and then proceed to feed upon them. Dracula provides them with victims to devour, mainly implied to be infants.

<i>Dracula, the Musical</i> 2001 American musical by Frank Wildhorn

Dracula, the Musical is a musical based on the original 1897 Victorian novel by Bram Stoker. The score is by Frank Wildhorn, with lyrics and book by Don Black and Christopher Hampton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Harker</span> Fictional character created by Bram Stoker

Jonathan Harker is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists of Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula. An English solicitor, his journey to Transylvania and encounter with the vampire Count Dracula and his Brides at Castle Dracula constitutes the dramatic opening scenes in the novel and most of the film adaptations.

<i>Count Dracula</i> (1970 film) 1970 film

Count Dracula is a 1970 gothic horror film directed by Jesús Franco, based on the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker. It stars Christopher Lee, Herbert Lom and Klaus Kinski.

<i>Dracula 3D</i> 2012 Italian film

Dracula 3D is a 2012 vampire horror film co-written and directed by Dario Argento and starring Thomas Kretschmann, Rutger Hauer, Marta Gastini, and Unax Ugalde. An Italian-Spanish-French co-production, the film is Argento's first 3D film. Kretschmann took the role of Dracula; he later played Abraham van Helsing in the Budapest-shot television series Dracula.

<i>Dracula: Pages from a Virgins Diary</i> 2002 Canadian film

Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary is a 2002 horror film directed by Guy Maddin, budgeted at $1.7 million and produced for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) as a dance film documenting a performance by the Royal Winnipeg Ballet adapting Bram Stoker's novel Dracula. Maddin elected to shoot the dance film in a fashion uncommon for such films, through close-ups and using jump cuts. Maddin also stayed close to the source material of Stoker's novel, emphasizing the xenophobia in the reactions of the main characters to Dracula.

<i>Young Dracula</i> British teenage horror drama television series

Young Dracula is a British children's horror drama comedy television series which aired on CBBC, loosely based on Young Dracula, a 2002 children's book by Michael Lawrence. It is also based on the epistolary novel Dracula, written by Bram Stoker and published in 1897. The final episode aired on 31 March 2014.

<i>Count Dracula</i> (1977 film) 1977 British film

Count Dracula is a British television adaptation of the 1897 novel Dracula by Bram Stoker. Produced by the BBC, it first aired on BBC 2 on 22 December 1977. It is among the more faithful of the many adaptations of the original book. Directed by Philip Saville from a screenplay by Gerald Savory, it stars Louis Jourdan as Count Dracula and Frank Finlay as Professor Van Helsing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Count Dracula</span> Title character of Bram Stokers 1897 gothic horror novel Dracula

Count Dracula is the title character of Bram Stoker's 1897 gothic horror novel Dracula. He is considered the prototypical and archetypal vampire in subsequent works of fiction. Aspects of the character are believed by some to have been inspired by the 15th-century Wallachian prince Vlad the Impaler, who was also known as Vlad Dracula, and by Sir Henry Irving, an actor for whom Stoker was a personal assistant.

<i>Dracula</i> (1924 play) 1924 stage play

Dracula is a stage play written by the Irish actor and playwright Hamilton Deane in 1924, then revised by the American writer John L. Balderston in 1927. It was the first authorized adaptation of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula. After touring in England, the original version of the play appeared at London's Little Theatre in July 1927, where it was seen by the American producer Horace Liveright. Liveright asked Balderston to revise the play for a Broadway production that opened at the Fulton Theatre in October 1927. This production starred Bela Lugosi in his first major English-speaking role.

<i>Anno Dracula</i> 1992 novel by Kim Newman

Anno Dracula is a 1992 novel by British writer Kim Newman, the first in the Anno Dracula series. It is an alternate history using 19th-century English historical settings and personalities, along with characters from popular fiction.

Dracula is an adaptation, first published in 1996, by American playwright Steven Dietz of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel by the same name. Though it has never run on Broadway, the author lists it among his most financially successful works, and it is frequently performed near Halloween in regional and community theaters. Closely following the plot of the novel, the play chronicles Count Dracula's journey to England, his stalking of two young women, and his pursuit and eventual defeat by the heroines' suitors and their associates.

<i>Dracula: A Chamber Musical</i>

Dracula: A Chamber Musical is a 1997 Canadian musical adaptation of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula. The book and lyrics are by Richard Ouzounian and the music and orchestration are by Marek Norman. After premiering at the Neptune Theatre in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1997, Dracula in 1999 became the first Canadian musical to be staged at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dracula (radio drama)</span>

"Dracula" is an episode of the American radio drama anthology series The Mercury Theatre on the Air. It was performed as the premiere episode of the series on Monday, July 11, 1938, and aired over the Columbia Broadcasting System radio network. Directed and narrated by actor and future filmmaker Orson Welles, the episode was an adaptation of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula.

<i>Dracula</i> (Universal film series)

Dracula is a film series of horror films from Universal Pictures based on the 1897 novel Dracula by Bram Stoker and its 1927 play adaptation. The series is a loose collection of films, with historians stating that the films all reference characters, events or at least passing knowledge of the 1931 English-language production of Dracula, with historians noting that Dracula's Daughter and Son of Dracula are more closely related to the 1931 film while the character of Dracula would make smaller appearances in later films such as House of Frankenstein and House of Dracula. After Dracula's Daughter, the character of Dracula and other vampires in the series became more Americanized, starting with the release of Son of Dracula, and the later House of films. The character of Dracula appears in all the films outside of Dracula's Daughter, where he is portrayed by Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney Jr., and John Carradine in the House of films.

References

  1. ↑ Adam Lee Price (2016-05-11). "Event Report: FANGORIA's "THE CURSE OF SLEEPING BEAUTY" special screening". FANGORIA. Archived from the original on 2016-07-21. Retrieved 2016-07-12.
  2. ↑ Mark Newton (2015-08-04). "It's been 19 years since Mission: Impossible first released!". Movie Pilot. Archived from the original on 2017-01-17. Retrieved 2016-07-12.
  3. ↑ Ford, Rebecca (2015-03-11). "Lakeshore, STX Entertainment's Horror Film 'The Boy' Sets Cast (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2016-07-12.
  4. ↑ Dracula: The Dark Prince , retrieved 2023-01-02
  5. ↑ Admin (2014-02-03). "DVD Review – Dracula: The Dark Prince (2013)". Flickering Myth. Retrieved 2016-07-12.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.