Movie Review by:
Ceres Carna
Dracula: Prince of Darkness
Lightning strikes the castle as the Virgin Mary sheds bloody tears. A baby boy is born into the world.
Legend had it that a baby born under these conditions was the Anti- Christ, he would betray his truest friends. He would promise peace, but bring only terror.
This movie takes you through the life and trials of Vlad Dracula, also known as Vlad the Terrible and Vlad the Impaler. From his life story spurned the tales of the bloodthirsty, vicious vampires we know today.
I first read the book in 1995. I was awed by the fact that....this monster commiting these crimes and acts of violence WAS NOT a monster. He was a man, a human...he had a soul and a conscience and he didn't care.
The movie begins in Poenari, Transylvania. Dracula was a 15th-century Wallachian prince. He was described as awesome, cruel, and a possibly demented ruler. He was known for the amount of blood he indiscriminately spilled.
Their name, Dracul, was a nickname. The Romanian word for "Devil" is Dracul. In addition, it meant "Dragon", which is why the ring in the movie is so important. The ring symbolized power and the Holy Roman Empire. When the simple, superstitious peasants saw Vlad the Father bearing the ring with the dragon symbol they interpreted it as a sign that he was now in league with the devil. "Dracula" is the form of Dracul meaning "Son of Dracul", or "Little Dracul"
The Order of the Dragon was primarily responsible for waging war against the Sultan of the Turkish, who demanded payments and young boys every year. When Dracul decided not to pay them, he left to rally the nobles against the Sultan. His two sons, Dracula and Radu were imprisoned for years.There, they learned that the nobles had murdered their father, actually burying him alive. Dracula promised that he would avenge his father's death.
Dracula was set free and went to the King of Hungary, who was his father's friend. Aided with money and men, he attacked the Turkish forces and brutally murdered many of them. He married a nobleman's daughter and had a son, but the Turkish army gained power and were seizing his castle. His wife commited suicide by leaping from the highest tower. Dracula went, once again, to the King of Hungary. Anticipating this, the nobles (aided by Dracula's brother, Radu) forged his signature of papers promising to attack Hungary. Dracula was imprisoned yet again.
His release came with a burden that he marry the kings daughter and renounce his faith. He was excommunicated from his own Orthodox church due to this unholy act, and he realized that the Priests were the ones who murdered his father. His own brother Radu partook in his downfall, and his brother stabbed him to death.
Here's where Hollywood kicks in. It is said that to be excommunicated is to be cursed. You cannot enter heaven or hell...you must wander, your soul incomplete , never knowing true peace. Dracula rose from the dead to take revenge on the Priest that killed his father, and that had helped to kill him.
This was a good movie, I enjoyed it mainly because I knew the background of the story. Its interesting to see that the legendary Vampire was nothing more than a human, even if he was sick and sadistic. A few of the facts are a little off-base, but not too bad for a documentary movie. I would recommend this movie to anyone, modern vampire or not.