10 Worst Horror Prequels Ever Made

3. Dracula Untold

Red Dragon Anthony Hopkins
Universal Pictures

Vlad Dracula. Interesting guy, right? Even before he became an immortal vampire and the original horror icon, Vlad Tepes was a terrifying prospect, nailing hats to heads and impaling so many of his enemies that he literally became known as Vlad the Impaler. Even without the bloodsucking, a pre-Dracula Dracula story is ripe for horror pickings.

Except in Dracula Untold, where it isn't. Taking its inspiration from Bram Stoker's Dracula (the movie, not Bram Stoker's actual Dracula) as a Gothic romance, it repositions Vlad as a tragic hero, turning vampire to save his people... from Dominic Cooper (a less imposing screen villain has never been found). A transparent attempt to jump-start a Universal Monsters universe, it's pretty, vapid nonsense, awash with an abundance of CGI and boring characters, establishing Luke Evans as one of the two most boring Draculas in screen history (hello, Blade: Trinity!)

In this case, it would have been better left untold.

Contributor
Contributor

A film critic and professional writer of over ten years, Joel Harley has a deep and abiding love of all things horror, Batman and Nicolas Cage. He can be found writing online and in print, all over the Internet and in especially good bookstores.