10 Sharpest Intersecting Films Between Vlad The Impaler And Dracula

6. Vlad (2003)

The combination of elements from Vlad the Impaler's historical legend with supernatural fiction continues into the present day, but it probably hit its nadir over a decade ago. US writer/director Michael D. Sellers had a stab at making Eastern European history accessible to a LORD OF THE RINGS audience, albeit on a much lower budget, but it's hard to gauge what his intended effect was. Four modern students touring Romania uncover a haunted amulet, which brings them into contact with the immortal - albeit not really undead - Vlad, played with a certain dark charisma by Francesco Quinn, son of the better-known Anthony. Vlad is not really a vampire but he's a 'creature' - there's a certain orc-ishness about him when he's transformed by CGI - and there's an eventual erotic seduction of the female student, as well as an effective flashback sequence which puts over the brutality of the Ottoman wars in Europe (a baby is trampled by stampeding cavalry). But if it sounds like the elements don't really gel - well, they don't. The screen versions of Vlad have made sharper points since - and they certainly had before, too€