Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula

Good try at a Bio of Vlad Tepes but too many historical mistakes of his life. Filmed in Sighisoara Vlad's actual birthplace but they mention that he was born somewhere else. You can actual see the building he was born in, Sighisoara is a beautiful medieval town so filming there was a great idea. Though alot of mistakes were made it was still a good story and a well done film.

I can't honestly say exactly what caught my eye about this movie at my local video rental store. Perhaps it was just the Dracula title or possibly that it sounded interesting and a very different twist on the Dracula story. Here in Canada the movie was called Dracula: Dark Prince rather than "The True Story Of..." but still it caught my attention. The movie was phenomenal. The acting of each character was flawless and excellent. Having previously seen the lead Character portray Dracula previously on Buffy The Vampire Slayer (which was just a terrible episode) I was glad he got the opportunity to portray the famed killer again because he looks the part and he has it nailed to perfection.

The story is not the Dracula we all remember. The story is of the very human Vlad Dracul or (Vlad The Impaler) as history knows him. The prince of Romania who's father is murdered after Vlad and his brother are kidnapped by the Turkish Sultan who takes over Romania with an iron fist. Vlad's brother gives the Sultan everything including his body (seems the Sultan has a soft spot for young boys) but through torture, and starving Vlad perseveres and refuses to bow down to the Sultan. Eventually Vlad is released and with an army of Romanian peasants they take back their land. Vlad is considered their savior although by some he is called the Anti-Christ of Biblical prophecy. Throughout the movie Vlad fights to hold peace in his country and hold his throne. Every minute of this movie is captivating and interesting.

Whether it's exactly historically accurate really doesn't matter. The story is entertaining and brilliant written, acted, and directed and having been filmed in Romania, adds to the story. It's dark, and scary, and a truly worthy film. The unfortunate side was the lack of budget. Apparently this movie was made for TV and it was not given half the chance it deserves. With a big budget, they could have done a brilliant first class movie that could have held it's own in the theaters not just on video. People everywhere will be talking about this movie and it's unfortunate that critics, and movie theater lovers might not get to see this film. The movie also goes through the familiar "Vampire/Dracula" folk lore and explains where each myth came from such as "not being able to see a Vampire in a mirror" and "their retraction to light" just to name a couple. My suggestion right now is to go out and rent this movie, you will not see a better movie on your shelves. 8.5/10 (with a big budget could have easily been a 10/10)

I would like to see more Dracula movies based on the actual person. This is the first one I have ever come across. It's nice to see an interpretation on the real person rather than the Hollywood version. Though i wouldn't rely on this movie for true and accurate history, it did appear to stretch it for drama sake. The atmosphere is perfect, dark and haunting in a medieval sort of way. I thought it was amusing how at certain points the movie there were allusions to the common vampire myth (two i recall are about mirrors and driving a stake through Dracula's heart). Those point do spark interest into the real customs and beliefs of that time that formed the myth. I would recommend this movie to those who are at the least mildly interested in history and Dracula. Though it's a little dull at times and the brutality is dumbed down (it is a TV movie), it's a good movie to see when its on TV.

I have always been fascinated by the history of Vlad Dracula, and am glad that someone finally decided to make a film of this fascinating man. Low budget or not, this film is a great interpretation of the history of the legend.

Not your typical Dracula film, this film tells the story of the real Dracula, who inspired the story by Bram Stoker. It shows his birth, to his reign as prince of Romania, to his death. Some of the scenes are based on fact, others, I'm sure, were written just for the film. I have quite a few historical books about the man, and yes, the atrocities shown in this movie, were in fact done by the man.

The film was filmed in Romania and Hungary, so that does add to the realism of the story. The film is low budget, but even so, the sword fights had excellent choreography, and the special effects were above par for the budget. The only drawback for me was the length. Only 90 minutes.

All in all, this movie is worth a rental by both historical buffs, and horror fans. Hopefully someone will make a big screen version of this story one day. It sure does deserve one.

The only problem I had with this movie was the excessive and exaggerated use of the "shaky-cam". This can be an effective took, if used subtly. That was not the case in Dark Prince. I found it very annoying at times and once, it became down-right painful to watch. The good news is that its not always that bad. I enjoyed it and would recommend it for good acting, compelling story line, very good battle scenes, great sets and location shots, and captivating subject matter for those who want intelligent Halloween entertainment.