Customer Reviews

Vlad

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I'm impressed, although I'm not a huge "Horror" fan this movie was well done and I'm sure it's fair to totally judge it ad "Horror". Nice mix of the real character (Vlad) and present day. Love the Romanian locations. Not your typical "Vampire" flick at all!! Francesco Quinn reminds me of young a Anthony (his dad). Nice mix of History and fiction. Vlad the impaler rides again.

This was a very interesting movie about Vlad Dracula, not especially about vampires. It tried to tell a bit of history about Vlad and his origin and rise to power, and it wasn't just a cheaply made movie to show off a bunch of women getting naked and getting their necks bitten. It's actually about 4 exchange student "chosen" to come to Romania to study the history of the country by traveling to the Carpatian mountains to research the home Territory of Vlad the Impailer. But, one of them has a secret, an necklace that was worn by Vlad himself, taken off of him in his grave. Now, the movie gets strange because it is not based around getting the necklace back, but about getting this midevil English girl that has been brought through time just before Vlad was going to Kill her (or marry her, not really sure). She was warped through time by the power of the amulet. After she comes back, so Follows Vlad because she reminds him of his dead wife. The rest of the movie is the students trying to get this necklace back to the tomb so VLad will rest in peace.
I could explain more, but Its difficult. I found myself at many points wonder, why doesn't Vlad just take the dang english girl and leave, he wanders into the castle right by her (followed her scent) and attacks all the friend, and yet doesn't just walk up, take the girl and leave?. Or, if he's mad about the Necklace, why doesn't he just take it from the guy? I am not sure. Finally, as one of the other astute reviewer notes, at the end scene, One of the female student who is controlled by Vlad, attacks the friend attempting to put the necklace in the stream and back on the stone, then turns her attention to english girl who jumps on her back. Finally, this Vlad controlled student gets the upper hand on the English chick, and calmly stand by in awe as the first friend completes the task of replaceing the necklace. Why doesn't she snap the english gals neck and stop the gal with the necklace, or why doesn't vlad turn and stop her? Instead he is just merely swinging his sword attempting to kill the friend without the amulet? Just really confusing. The movie was entertaining enough, but could have been so much more. It just Kinda flaked out at the end. Again, at times i think they did throw in some nudity scenes just to capture male viewership. Their was a dream scene in the bathtub, could have been done in bed or any other time just as well, but eh, that's what B movies do. Also, they had to throw in a steaming animalistic love scene, again, B movie nescessity? So, worth seeing, just try and ignore the few script errors, and it really could have been a big film if it had been funded better.

OK, I am Romanian and I remember I read in Time magazine about the making of this movie in 2003. They called it an attempt to show the historical truth about Vlad Tepes?! Well, almost... The plot is cheap, but for a horror movie I'd say it is ok.... What amezed me is that Romanian actors spoke English with a very strong Romanian accent but foreigners spoke Romanian with a very good accent. The chase scene made me smile because i recognized the part of Bucharest it was filmed and it is very dear to me... Now besides the fact that romanian soldiers in Vlad Tepes army looked like knights at King ARthur's court and that Vlad tepes's wife spoke some sort of old English?! and the movie depicted that the official religion was Catholic the rest is ok and I'd say they went the 9 yards to restaurate the costumes and habits. But... also one thing that made me smile.... the students arrive to one of Vlad tepes Castle at night and in the morning they leave from another one (in a different city). But only Romanians can recognize them.... Overall I'd say it is a cheesy movie for Romanians but it will fly with the rest of the world.

For a low budget movie made in 23 days, "Vlad" is rather good. Apparently, director Michael Sellers was intent on making a serious film here as opposed to the usual slice and dice gore fests and has gotten respectable results. For the most part, the movie was filmed entirely on location using many local actors and actual villagers and includes dialogue in Romanian, Middle English, and Latin so it has an authentic feel to it. The atmosphere, settings, glimpses of Romanian culture, and flashbacks of Vlad the Impaler's life are fascinating. That the college students, who are there to research the "historical" Dracula, are fairly believable, particularly Monica Davidescu, is a welcome change from the bunglers in many "horror" movies. There are only a few "supernatural" scenes; Vlad in "vampire face," which is something of a modified vampire bat face, a superimposed dual-image wolf-to-Vlad transformation, and a rapid ascent up the outside wall of a building so the story is not dependent upon or overshadowed by special effects. In one of the more realistic and intense portrayals of the title character to date, Francesco Quinn is quite compelling as Vlad Tepes/Dracula and mesmerizing to watch. Billy Zane, managing a credible accent, does a solid job as the students' contact/guide and the rest of the cast turn in decent performances all around. The bad news is that there is not enough of Vlad, the reason given for returning his necklace has a noticeable hole in it, and the girl sucked into our time, courtesy of said necklace, despite her costume, looks entirely too modern, which is distracting. In addition to the movie, there are many good extras and after watching all of them, it is worth the extra time to view Sellers' commentary to glean his noteworthy little tidbits about the filming. The only annoying part of these remarks is that he mentions too often how long everything took to do. All in all, "Vlad" is an enjoyable, worthwhile addition to any vampire movie library.

I was lucky enough to catch this film at a screening in Los Angeles and enjoyed it immensely. What I liked most was the way the film blends all the classic elements in a traditional vampire film, but remains unique in its approach. Rather than relying on blood and gore, it portrays Vlad the Impaler as more than a monster. We're shown glimpses of his past and quickly empathize with his pain, even as we're terrified by his brutality.

The love stories woven into the film and the pace at which it's told keep you emotionally invested and on the edge of your seat. The tone and feel of romance, aided by the beautiful backdrop of the Carpathian mountains, is undeniable and moving.

The film carefully balances love and anguish while merging past and present worlds. Even though it's set in modern day, the film shows how we as people face the same struggles throughout our history. Vlad is incredibly well thought out and acted, and should be enjoyable to a wide range of people. The nudity and violence in the film is done with taste and purpose and I'd recommend this film to anyone that wants a romantic saga about one of the world's most notorious monsters.

The official site is www.vladthemovie.com

For a modern Dracula movie, this one isn't bad. The only bad thing is that it barrows and copies from many other Dracula stories and movies, including Subspecies and Bram Stoker's Dracula to name a couple.

Over all, the movie isn't bad. The special effects are decent and the story, is once again, average. The acting is good in places, but two of the best actors, and the one's I watched the movie hoping to see - Brad Douriff and Billy Zane - were barely in the movie at all. I was disappointed.

There wasn't anything that stood out for me about this film, other than the fact that Billy Zane is still charming as ever. Other than that, the plot is full of holes, the ending is silly, the story is predictable. I also had objections to a rape scene in the movie. There are good parts. Some of the costumes are nice, and some of the acting was decent.

I would recommend this only to fans of B movies, people who need an all too brief Billy Zane fix, or Dracula completist fans. I would not recommend it to someone just looking for a good horror movie.

The only really interesting thing about this movie were the flashbacks. If they had focused on that, instead of trekking through the woods, it would have been a much better movie. ANd I must have missed the point of this as I watched alot of the movie in fastforward, but what was Vlads purpose in taking and having sex with the one modern day blonde, and then going after the past blonde? Or is this another of those movies where sex and nudity has to be thrown in just because? I was really disapointed in what I thought would be an interesting movie rental.

OK... it almost kills me to give a 2 star rating to a BILLY ZANE movie!!! Zane gives a Great performance in this film and does a great job with his Romanian accent! This is the reason for the 2 star rating and Zane was the only reason I have this movie. Otherwise, the moving is rather boring and a dracula want to be flick. Not a true vampire movie. I'd only suggest renting this film to see Zane's performance....other than that, I think most people will be disappointed in the overall film.

This movie was AWSOME!!! It was a little "corny", but that added to it. I loved every minute of it, until the end, it could have been better. But it did fit the format of the movie. A couple good sex scenes.(very intense)

No Complaints with the acting, except Billy Zane, good actor but I think he should have paid a little more attention in his Romanian lessons, then maybe he could have mustered up a little bit more than just, "Da." LoL.

But overall, GREAT. I recommend this film to anyone who wants to know more about Vlad Tepes (Vlad the Impaler) than just the same old Vampire stories.

Boring....not much more to say: Lack of action, lack of gore, lack of horror, lack of enthusiasm, lack of energy. If you like to listen to people talk then by all means, get this.

Quality of picture and sound was good.