Vlad
Vlad
R | 10 September 2004 (USA)
Vlad Trailers

Death and spiritual torment stalk three American students visiting the Carpathian mountain homeland of Vlad Tepes.

Reviews
GazerRise Fantastic!
StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.
Numerootno A story that's too fascinating to pass by...
Brooklynn There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.
krotkruton I read a couple of the other reviews of this movie and didn't think that most of them were fair. I really think this was just an average movie, not a good or bad movie, just average.I watch a lot of movies and love anything about vampires, but this movie didn't really do it for me. There was a lot of information about Vlad, but there wasn't a whole lot of info about vampires. Without giving anything away, I'll just say that the causes are Vlad's vampirism were nothing you haven't heard before if you've seen more than one vampire movie. With all the build up about Vlad, I was hoping for a more original plot. However, I don't think that because the movie failed to be original that it should count against it, I just think it shouldn't be praised for it either.Besides the plot, the movies did have a pretty good production value. I'd say that it was a bit better than a made-for-TV movie but obviously not a big budget film. Just because it's an independent movie doesn't mean that its great. Independent companies put out plenty of bad movies, but this falls somewhere in-between.I wouldn't say this movie is worth watching, but I don't regret watching it either.
grammarbitch Vlad doesn't turn out to be the film you'd expect when you see that name, and it's much better and much more interesting than its cable/TiVo synopsis might lead one to believe. Because it's not just another vampire movie, or even a restless, tragic spirit movie. Vlad is an intriguing blend of historical fact and supernatural fiction. It's a movie with both a brain and a heart; the script believes its audience is at least IQ 80 and it doesn't treat the viewer as an imbecile, or an ADHD blood-and-guts freak who needs some lame-brained pseudo-action sequence every 7.5 seconds in order to stay interested in a film. Don't get me wrong; there's action, and there's plenty of supernatural trappings to Vlad. But there's also knowledge to be gained from the literate script, and heartstrings to be (rightfully) tugged by the backstory and plight of the tragic eponymous character. Good acting, superior writing and a marvelous grace note ending make Vlad a film that will stay with you long after you've first viewed it, and that only improves on repeat viewings. It's certainly not for everybody, but if you enjoy a film that doesn't insult your intelligence whilst telling you a fascinating story, then Vlad is the film for you. It could well become a classic if only more people were to take that chance and give it a try. It's really *that* good.
trei-mlcs When I saw the teaser for VLAD I was not expecting much, but I was actually impressed. VLAD has a very interesting premise once you get passed the initial campy start of college kids chasing the vampire legend. I agree that some of the editing might not be the best at times, but that's to be expected on a low budget.The casting was good and did a good job delivering the dialog in a believable way.I would recommend this to anyone that wants a break from the action/adventure visions of vampires or anyone that just enjoys a little more substance than a goth/s&m vampire flick.
catherinebarrett As a fan of independent films, I expect some sort of originality and a unique approach to the story. The fact that this has the vampire aspect about it could have made it just like all of the other hundreds of vampire movies out there. But I was pleasantly surprised when I saw VLAD. The story gives the viewer a little history lesson about how the whole Dracula phenomenom started. I for one, had no idea that Dracula is based off of Vlad the Impaler, a real life terror to people during the 15th century. This wasn't a movie about a blood-sucking monster but rather about 4 students who go to Romania to research different aspects of the myth that surrounds Vlad. Without giving away too much of the story, I'll just say that it was a very different and interesting take on the vampire myth. The first thing I noticed about this film was how breathtaking the cinematography was. Shot in the Carpathiean mountains, the outdoor scenes are absolutely beautiful. Between the scenery and the musical score alone, I found the film to be very haunting and realistic. This film is the first for the director and was independantly done which means low-budget. I'm amazed because it looks so beautiful and better than some big-budget features that are out in theaters right now. I definitely recommend this to anyone who wants to see a unique and different approach to a film that isn't about vampires but about a myth that has love, devotion, and ultimately vengeance.