10 Monster Movies The Mummy Needs To Improve Upon

In what should’ve been called Dracula: The Early Years – or maybe Young Dracula – we’re introduced to Prince Vlad (Luke Evans), who owes more to JRR Tolkien than Bram Stoker.

Though he’s referred to on several occasions as “The Impaler”, this is a very Hollywood version of the Prince, meaning that we never see him impale peasants or burn down orphanages, he’s managed to put his violent past behind him and move on. Father of the Year, cover of Time Magazine, etc.

Having brought peace to Transylvania (it says here), his idyll is shattered by the arrival of the evil Turks, who demand a thousand young boys for their army. This of course forces Vlad to seek out exiled vampire Charles Dance, who promises him the strength of a hundred men in exchange for drinking his blood. The drawback: Vlad must die and return as a creature with superhuman powers.

You can almost hear the producers saying, “Can we make it a bit like 300 and The Hobbit? Can we get a British actor a bit like Gerard Butler? Can we load it with digital FX, quick-cut battle scenes and supernatural mumbo jumbo?” They did and, despite a modern-day epilogue that leaves the door wide open for a sequel, there won’t be any future outings for this version of the character.