Dracula Untold (2014)

Dracula Untold is an American Action Horror film based on the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker. It was released on October 10, 2014.

Plot
Before the Renaissance, Vlad Țepeș is the Prince of Wallachia and Transylvania. As a child, he was a royal hostage in the palace of the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and was trained to be a soldier in the Sultan's elite Janissaries corps, where he became their most feared warrior. He was called Vlad the Impaler after slaughtering thousands by impaling them on spears.

Now ruling his domains in peace, Vlad and his soldiers discover a helmet in a stream and fear that an Ottoman scouting party is preparing the way for invasion. The stream leads to Broken Tooth Mountain, the top of which has a cave carpeted in crushed bone. Within the cave, they are attacked in the dark by an inhumanly strong and fast humanoid creature, killing Vlad's retinue. Returning to his castle, Vlad learns from a local monk that the creature, is a vampire, a Roman from the days of the Empire, who was tricked by a demon for personal success, but was trapped in the cave as price for this. Vlad celebrates an Easter feast with his wife Mirena and son Îngeraș, when an Ottoman contingent arrives at the castle. Vlad offers them the usual tribute payment of silver coins, but the emissary wants an additional tribute of 1,000 boys to be trained as Janissaries. Vlad refuses. Mirena believes Vlad can convince Sultan Mehmed II to show mercy. Vlad offers himself in place of the boys; but Mehmed refuses and demands Vlad's son in addition.

Knowing war is coming, Vlad returns to the Broken Tooth Mountain cave to seek help from the vampire. The vampire tells him there are consequences and offers him some of his blood, which will temporarily give Vlad the powers of a vampire. If he resists the intense urge to drink human blood for three days, he will turn back into a human. Otherwise, he will remain a vampire forever, and the ancient vampire will be freed, the seal on his cave broken. Vlad accepts the offer. He discovers that he has the ability to transform into a cloud of bats. When he returns to Castle Dracula, the Ottoman army attacks, but Vlad single-handedly kills them all. He then sends most of the castle's subjects to Cozia Monastery for safety.

Mirena learns of Vlad's curse, as she sees him holding silver to keep himself weak when near his people to avoid revealing his condition to them or attacking them for blood. Vlad's sudden increased strength also arouses suspicion among his subjects.

That night, the Ottoman army marches on the monastery. Vlad commands an enormous swarm of bats to repel them; however, the soldiers are actually a decoy force, allowing a handful of Turks to infiltrate the monastery, kill many of the inhabitants and kidnap Îngeraș. Mirena tries to defend her son, and falls from the edge of the monastery wall. Despite his superhuman speed, Vlad cannot reach her in time. Dying, Mirena pleads with Vlad to drink her blood before the sun rises and lifts his curse, so that he will have the strength to save their son. Vlad reluctantly drinks her blood, triggering his final transformation into a full-blooded vampire and granting him even greater powers. As he does so, he summons black storm clouds to block out the sun. Vlad returns to the monastery and turns the small group of survivors and mortally wounded into vampires as well.

At the Ottoman army's camp, Mehmed prepares for a massive invasion of Europe. Vlad and his vampires arrive, hidden by a large lightning storm, and easily massacre the terrified Ottoman soldiers, while Vlad himself goes after Mehmed, who is holding Îngeraș captive. Aware that vampires are weakened by silver, Mehmed has lined the floor of his tent with silver coins, making Vlad's strength and speed that of a human — and impairing his vision — as Mehmed fights him with a silver sword. He overpowers Vlad and prepares to impale his heart with a wooden stake, but Vlad turns into a flock of bats and evades him. Taking the name "Dracula, Son of the Devil", he kills Mehmed with the stake and drinks his blood. Vlad then sends Îngeraș away before his vampire army preys on him, and dispels the storm clouds so that the vampires, including himself, will burn away and die in the light. However, a man who had previously observed Vlad's nature and wished to serve him drags his dying body out of the sunlight and offers him his blood, which restores Vlad to life. With Vlad presumed dead and Europe saved from the Ottoman invasion, Îngeraș is crowned the new Prince of Wallachia.

In the present day, Vlad meets a woman named Mina, who strikingly resembles Mirena, in the streets of a modern city (London), while the vampire who cursed Vlad watches them from afar. As they walk away, he follows, saying "Let the games begin".

Cast

 * Luke Evans as Vlad III Tepes
 * Sarah Gadon as Mirena
 * Dominic Cooper as Mehmed the Second
 * Samantha Barks as Baba Yaga
 * Art Parkinson as Ingeras
 * William Houston as Cazan
 * Ferdinand Kingsley as Hamza Bey
 * Noah Huntley as Captain Petru
 * Zach McGowan as Shkelgim
 * Ronan Vibert as Simion "The Wise"
 * Diarmaid Murtagh as Dimitru
 * Noah Huntley as Master of the Guards
 * Thor Kristjansson as Bright Eyes
 * Joseph Long as Omer
 * Charles Dance as Master Vampire

Production
In 2007, director Alex Proyas was hired by Universal Studios to direct the film Dracula: Year Zero. The film was to be produced by Michael De Luca and filmed in Australia. Later, Universal ended the deals with Proyas and scheduled star Sam Worthington because of the high budget. It was announced on February 10, 2012, by Deadline Hollywood that Irish director Gary Shore was in talks to direct. Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless wrote the script for the new film. On April 25, 2013, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that Universal had announced that the film would be released on August 8, 2014. On May 20, 2013, First Minister of Northern Ireland Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland Martin McGuinness announced that Universal would film Dracula in August in Northern Ireland. On August 29, 2013, Variety reported that Legendary Pictures was considering co-financing the film. Legendary's involvement in production was confirmed in May 2014.

Casting
On January 25, 2010, it was announced that Sam Worthington was in negotiations to play Vlad the Impaler, and the film was set to release in 2011. On August 19, Worthington was confirmed to star in the film. On February 10, 2012, Deadline confirmed that Universal closed the deal with Worthington. On April 8, 2013, actor Luke Evans joined the cast, replacing Worthington to play the role of Vlad the Impaler, the man who would become the mythological bloodsucker Dracula. On May 2, 2013, Sarah Gadon joined the cast to star alongside Evans. On May 8 Varietyannounced that Dominic Cooper was in talks to join the cast. On July 11, 2013, Zach McGowanalso signed on, to play the role of Shkelgim, a gypsy chief. On July 26, Samantha Barks joined the cast to play a character from Eastern European folk tales known as Baba Yaga, a beautiful young woman who transforms into a savage witch; her scenes were later cut from the film. Along with Barks more cast was added, including Charlie Cox, Ferdinand Kingsley, William Houston, and Thor Kristjansson, the latter of whom would play the role of Bright Eyes, an Eastern European taken as a slave as a young boy and now an assassin in the Ottoman Army. Art Parkinson then joined on to play the role of Ingeras, son of Dracula.

On October 15, 2014, it was announced that if the film was included in a rebooted Universal Monsters universe then Charles Dance's character "Master Vampire" could appear in several Universal Monsters films, much like Samuel L. Jackson in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Filming
On May 20, 2013, Universal confirmed that shooting would take place in Northern Ireland from August to November 2013. The film's shooting officially began on August 5, 2013, starting in Roe Valley Country Park in Northern Ireland. The production company received permission for two days of shooting, on August 5–6, to film in the park. Other location shooting took place throughout Northern Ireland.

In September 2014, actor Evans revealed that he received training every day after work, rehearsed with the stuntmen, and ate only chicken, beef, fish and green vegetables to get ready for the shoot of the film.