Blu-ray Review: DRACULA UNTOLD (2014)

DRACULA UNTOLD
Directed by  Gary Shore
Distributed by  Universal Pictures Home Entertainment

  I used to think I wasn't a big fan of vampire films, but I have seen quite a few lately that I have really enjoyed.  The latest is last year's hit film, DRACULA UNTOLD, which turned out to be even better than I expected it to be.   Here is the film's plot synopsis courtesy of the film's official website:

  Witness the origin story of one of legend's most captivating figures in the action-adventure, Dracula Untold. The year is 1462 and Transylvania has enjoyed a prolonged period of peace under the just and fair rule of the battle-weary Vlad III (Luke Evans, Fast & Furious 6, The Hobbit series), the prince of Wallachia. But when Sultan Mehmed II (Dominic Cooper, Captain America: The First Avenger) demands 1,000 of Wallachia's boys – including Vlad's own son – become child soldiers in his army, Vlad must enter into a Faustian bargain to save his family and his people. He gains the strength of 100 men, the speed of a falling star, and the power to crush his enemies. In exchange, he's inflicted with an insatiable thirst for human blood that could force him into a life of darkness and destroy all that he holds dear.

  This film was a very interesting take on the Dracula story.  I honestly have never been a big fan of vampire films  (I'm more of a zombie type guy), so I know very little about the Dracula story.  I don't think I had ever heard much of a background story about Dracula, so it was interesting to see how and why he became a vampire.  He is shown as a hero in this film, the good guy, which is something I have never associated Dracula with.

  The film was a very well done.  The acting was superb from everyone involved and the cinematography was amazing.  The scenery and some of the shots were tremendous, and while most all of it was CG, it still looked great.  While the film is a vampire movie first and foremost, it was also war/battle movie similar to the likes of a film like 300.   The battle scenes were spectacular and it was nice to see the good mix of horror and action.    

  DRACULA UNTOLD is a film I would highly recommend.  The films was great and is actually pretty family friendly overall.  If you have older kids, they could probably watch this film as there was not any real gore and no explicit sex scenes.   Now don't get me wrong, I love my horror with lots of gore and nudity, but it is nice every now and then to find a fun film in the horror genre that the whole family can enjoy together.

  DRACULA UNTOLD is available now on DVD and Blu-ray and contains the following special features:

Luke Evans: Creating a Legend  (Blu-ray exclusive)

Alternate Opening with Optional Commentary by Director Gary Shore and Production Designer François Audouy  (Blu-ray exclusive)

Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary by Director Gary Shore and Production Designer François Audouy  (Blu-ray exclusive)

Day in the Life - Luke Evans

Dracula Retold

Slaying 1000

The Land of Dracula  (Blu-ray exclusive)

Feature Commentary with Director Gary Shore and Production Designer François Audouy

CLICK HERE to watch the trailer
CLICK HERE to purchase the DVD
CLICK HERE to purchase the Blu-ray/DVD combo pack

DVD Review: SANGUIVOROUS

  
SANGUIVOROUS
Directed by Naoki Yoshimoto
Distributed by MVD Entertainment Group

  I am a huge fan of Japanese horror films, and I do enjoy a good vampire flick from time to time, so I was very intrigued when I heard about the film SANGUIVOROUS.  It looked very interesting from the trailer, but as a full movie, I have to admit I was a bit disappointed.  
 Here is the basic plot of the film from the MVD website:

It incorporates a physical acting style that draws heavily from butoh, a form of Japanese dance. A young woman suffering strange hallucinations and physical ailments discovers that she is the descendant of an ancient line of European vampires, and she and her boyfriend are soon captured by older vampires and drawn into the darkness.

  This is one of the strangest films I have seen in a long time.  I really am having a hard time thinking of how to review this one, because it was just so weird.   I can't say I liked it, but I didn't hate it either.  There are good parts and bad parts to this film, but most of it is just....too strange to even classify.  The film is basically a silent film, done in a very art house style.  There is some dialog, but most the time the viewer is just hit with crazy visuals and sounds.   The film is mostly black and white, with some parts looking old, like Nosferatu old, and some parts looking much more modern. The mixture of looks and style throughout the film is very strange to say the least.

  I think this would have made a great short film, I think trying to stretch it out to a full length feature run time was too much.  A lot of the scenes started to feel repetitive to me.

  I'm not sure if I can really recommend this one or not.  You might need to watch this and see for yourself and see what you think.  Is this film so well made it is a brilliant, or is it so poorly made it is awful?  I really don't know!  Maybe I just didn't get it.   If you have seen this film, please leave me a comment and let me know what you thought of the movie.  I am very interested to hear some other opinions on this one.

  SANGUIVOROUS is available now on DVD from MVD Entertainment.


CLICK HERE to watch the trailer
CLICK HERE to purchase the DVD