tl12 One of the film types I collect are Vampire films so Vlad was needed for the collection. I did not expect much when I saw the IMDb rating. However the 3.5 rating is from people that were to cowardly to leave a review to explain their low rating.Vlad is not an easy movie. The first time I watched it, the story line seemed confused and I was not much impressed. However there was something that I liked, so I watched it again. The second time I put more effort in to really watching the film and I found I quite liked it. It is slow paced, but I like slow paced films that take their time. I liked the characters and I loved the locations. I also found that the story line is not confused but twisting.I seriously doubt that most people would like this film, but if you like the subject mater and are willing to put some effort in to the film, I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

Paul Andrews Vlad starts as four foreign exchange students arrive in Romania where they are to travel to the Carpathian mountains in order to conduct research on their respective thesis which all involve Dracula, Vampires, Romania or the legends surrounding them, a guy named Adrian (Billy Zane) & his mate Rafescu (Brad Dourif) accompanies them as guides. On the way they come across a time travelling woman named Ilona (Iva Hasperger) who was once married to the infamous Vlad Tepes (Francesco Quinn). One of the students Lindsey (Monica Davidescu) has a secret, she has a ancient necklace that belonged to Vlad & supposedly gave him his powers & intends to return it after her Grandfather stole it during the second World War. But the necklace gives Vlad his power back & he sets out to reclaim his wife & the necklace...Written & directed by Michael D. Sellers this confusing mess of a romantic Vampire drama doesn't have a lot going for it, in fact I would have little hesitation in saying Vlad is rather anaemic. The script is a mess, there's all these flashback sequences that don't make much sense as well as ideas that just seem out of place like the whole sub-plot with the necklace & Ilona who for some strange reason that is never explained manages to travel hundreds of years into the future seemingly at random. Vlad isn't really a traditional Vampire film to be fair to it, it focuses on Vlad (the real life person who the character of Dracula was supposedly based on) & tries to paint him as a tortured soul as we see these annoying flashbacks to his past & what he has suffered. A character driven film about Dracula? What is the world coming to? Vlad never drinks anyone's blood, he randomly appears about halfway through the film with no explanation, he can walk in the sunlight & can change into a Wolf. He doesn't seem to have much of a plan except get his wife back & the necklace, hardly the most exciting plot or motivation for a character ever. The other character's are no better, no-one is likable & they all do stupid things & a sub-plot about a secret organisation trying to steal the necklace is raised but then completely forgotten about. The narrative is also very bitty, the location changes constantly with little regard to continuity & scenes don't seem to flow into each other that smoothly which left me somewhat confused.So the actual story & script has virtually zero entertainment value as far as I am concerned but to give Vlad some credit it does look quite nice on occasion, there's a nice visual style to it & while sometimes it can look a bit too staged it's pretty nice to look at. One thing I have to mention are the accents, they are absolutely terrible & is Billy Zane meant to be Romanian or Russian? The thick poorly executed accents make some of the dialogue hard to understand & at certain points character's randomly start talking in Romanian which is annoying too. Vlad has no gore whatsoever, in fact I don't think a single drop of human blood is seen during the entire film, a Wolf is shot at the end & it's body is seen but that's it. This is a very soft film. There are one or two clumsily edited sex scenes randomly inserted into the film but they don't improve it any. Vlad goes for storytelling & drama rather than scares & gore which is fine if you have a good engaging story that's well written, unfortunately Vlad doesn't.Actually shot in Buchrest in Romania the film certainly has an authentic look & feel about it, as I said it does look quite nice & I'll give it that. One of the hardest working men in the acting business Billy Zane is the 'name' actor here & he doesn't seem that interested with a poor accent & has the good sense to be killed off before the hour mark, the only other actor of note is Brad Dourif who is a genre regular.Vlad is part historical drama, part romance, part horror & all crap. Sorry but that's the way I feel about it, to be honest it didn't do anything for me at all & I just thought it was a mess of ideas none of which come together with any coherency. Not recommend.

darrenbarnes Most published novels and short stories are pretty good. Sure there are a few stinkers, but on the whole the stories are worth your time.The same certainly can't be said for the boat load of poor movie scripts out there, and Vlad proudly continues that trend. A promising storyline with a terrible script and acting. Many of the actor's lines were laughable, and numerous scenes didn't flow properly.Whether it's independent or big budget, I can't believe a studio would make a film such as Vlad, with a script that could be outdone by many high school English students.

slayrrr666 "Vlad" is a halfway decent attempt to make an original vampire movie.**SPOILERS**In the 15th Century, Vlad Drakul (Claudiu Bleont) is captured and passes on his rule onto his son. He would be called Vlad Drakula, the source of terror around Europe for centuries, until his amulet goes missing. Today, Radescu, (Brad Dourif) an American College professor, arranges for several students to come to Romania to study the legend of Drakul. Sending local guide Adrian (Billy Zane) to pick up the gang, brother and sister Jeff (Paul Popowich) and Alexa Meyer, (Kam Heskin) Linsey, (Monica Davidescu) a Romanian, and Justin, (Nicholas Irons) and after getting introduced to one another, takes them all to the supposed burial site of the legendary figure. Since Adrian can't make the rest of the trip, he asks his friend Mircea (Emil Hostina) to lead them the rest of the way. As they travel along, everyone starts to experience weird dreams of being with Count Dracula. When Linsey reveals the truth of her visit, she puts the rest of the group in danger of Vlad Tepes, (Francesco Quinn) the real life murderer from history.The Good News: This actually isn't all that bad of a movie. It tries to mix together a historic event about the merciless reign of Count Dracula and a new story involving them being in taken to his resting site and the horror that brings. The opening introduction to the legend of Dracula is handled well, and remains faithful to what actually happened in history. That makes the movie seem that much more genuine when taking a historical figure and translating it into fantasy. It keeps the historic facts accurate, which makes it seem all the more believable and all the more scary. We also have some great scenery here, as this seemed to have been filmed on location in Romania, and that allows the surroundings to shine through, heightening the little bit of tension it has. It needed some more, but the little it has was about right for the film. That's about what the film had going for it: atmosphere. The end has a great example of the atmosphere the film has. Going into detail about it would give away the film, so I won't say anything, but it is easily the best part. The lights, the camera movements, the angles, it's really creepy and is the best part of the movie.The Bad News: Despite the fact it provides a nice jump, the scene it the hotel was completely unnecessary. It never comes up again in the plot, doesn't really have much going for it except for the jump, stretched it out longer than need be. The ending is kind of a let down, as the photography shifts all over the place from well-in-focus to blurry to quick-cutting style that makes it nearly impossible to figure out what is going on. It's an annoying trick that I hope goes away. This also has a very weird vampire, in that there is no neck-biting involved and it doesn't make sense for traditional vampire fans to do that. It has a slow pace to it, and withe few deaths, it sometimes can take a while to get into it. Other than that, I really didn't find much wrong with it.The Final Verdict: Dracula could've been more of a threatening persona, as I didn't really feel scared by him, but it still has some great, creepy moments that make it seem like it had potential. It does treat a historical figure with respect, which few films do, but the horror aspect slows it down a little. Worth a look if you enjoy the legend or are interested in him, but be warned that it isn't a traditional vampire movie and that the historical part of him is only relegated to the introduction and a few pieces spread throughout the film.Rated R: Violence, mild Language, Nudity, two sex scenes, drug use and the on-screen death of an infant.