“Dracula: Untold,” Dracula’s origin story which made it’s cinematic debut in early October, features the (somewhat) accurate history of the real blood drinking prince, Vlad the Impaler. The historical Transylvanian prince was, in fact, not a vampire but was known for impaling his enemies and drinking human blood. This movie follows Vlad’s transition from respected leader to blood-sucking monster, Dracula.

The film begins with a montage of scenes as Ingeras, son of Prince Vlad Dracula, explains the dark history of Vlad the Impaler who was a soldier for the Turks. In an attempt to put an end to the false rumors of a monster, Ingeras tells the story of how the “monster” Dracula came to be.

Ingeras’ story sets the scene for Vlad’s encounter with an old friend who quickly becomes a mortal enemy. Vlad must call on a dark power to save his kingdom, but must also resist his blood-thirst for three days. Throughout the story, Vlad evolves from the son of the dragon to Dracula, the son of the devil.

Mostly adhering to the action and fantasy genres, with the occasional dark scene, the movie shouldn’t be classified as horror. The movie was scarier for the characters than it was for the audience. What the movie lacks in horror, it makes up for in action.

While Dracula’s claim to fame used to be his thirst for blood, his immense power stole the spotlight. The movie does a wonderful job of making him an anti-hero with both a literal and metaphorical bloodlust.

There is one scene that was particularly vague in its significance. This scene occurs when a group of Turk soldiers try to take Ingeras as a soldier, and Vlad single handedly defeats all of the them. This scene is important because Vlad displays his strength as a human before he becomes a vampire.

The story had a deeper meaning because it was based on the historical Vlad Dracula III and the legendary Dracula. This made the storyline more compelling and the characters seem more realistic.

One viewer said, “My overall opinion would be [that] it was a great movie, but there were a couple of things in [the movie] that could have been better, such as; a longer movie, and a little more clarification on Dracula’s history.”

The movie was a short hour and a half, but kept the audience’s attention the whole time. However, if there was more than a montage on Vlad’s history as a child soldier, it would have increased the movies overall quality.

Another moviegoer also agreed the film could have been longer. He said his favorite part was, “When [Dracula] jumped off the bridge and started attacking everyone with the bats … because he could control the bats to the point he could attack the people [with them].”

Fusing brilliant special effects, grand sets and the story of an iconic monster with the story of Prince Vlad III, movie-goers should be sure to see this movie, whether or not they’re horror or action fans. I would recommend this movie to anyone.