Dracula: The Dark Prince

Dracula: The Dark Prince is a 2013 American fantasy horror film directed by Pearry Reginald Teo and written by Nicole Jones-Dion and Steven Paul. The film stars Luke Roberts, Jon Voight, Kelly Wenham and Ben Robson. The film was shot in Romania and released on 15 October 2013.

Plot
Dracula, a Romanian prince, knight of the secret order of the dragon, and direct descendent of Abel is charged with the task of vanquishing the Turks from his homeland. While on campaign, he appoints his wife Erzebet to rule in his place. When he returns however, he finds that his wife and knights have been murdered by his advisers who were unhappy with his ways- he kills them, bar one who remains loyal with the aid of a loyal squire (who is fatally wounded). An enraged Dracula turns against God, and is cursed to spend an eternity in loneliness.

Centuries later, a group of keepers are attacked by a monstrous armoured figure known as Wraith and his undead, in their quest to find the Lightbringer- the only weapon that can kill Dracula. Sisters Alina and Esme are entrusted to bring the Lightbringer to Leonardo Van Helsing as their guards ward off an attack. A band of thieves led by Lucian finds the sisters and steal the Lightbringer. Leonardo arrives just before the band is attacked by Wraith and his undead. During the struggle, Lucien manages to activate the Lightbringer- revealing that he is a descendant of Cain, and able to wield the weapon. He manages to injure Wraith with the weapon but most of the thieves are killed, and Alina is kidnapped by Wraith and brought to Dracula.

Dracula recognizes Alina as his murdered bride and instructs his advisor Renfield to protect her. Meanwhile, Leonardo tells a sceptical Lucien about his lineage. The group discovers that the Lightbringer is activated by Lucien's blood to kill the undead, and Leonardo goes on to say that with the blood of Dracula, it could bring the dead to life. At the castle, Alina attempts to leave but is stopped by one of the new residents, Demetria who shows her the dining room and says that they like living there. As she becomes entranced by the atmosphere, the courtiers, who are revealed to be vampires attempt to bite her, but Alina is rescued by Dracula just in time.

At Betriz, Esme, Leonardo, and Lucien arrive at a gathering of demon hunters- where they meet Andros, an axe-wielding giant hunter who looks to avenge his sister who was taken long ago. Here, Leonardo tells how one who is bitten can either suffer forever, become his slave by drinking his blood, or are killed. Andros elects to join the group to find Dracula's castle. Wraith and his undeads once again attacks the group, and is this time mortally wounded by the Lightbringer. He returns to the castle and is revived by Dracula. At the castle, Dracula offers Alina his wife's necklace. The necklace grants Alina his wife's memories, and she sees how Dracula was a tender lover long ago. Dracula later shows her the night sky, and speaks to her of his search for his lost love. Later still, the couple dance and Dracula tells her his hope, that he will be able to use the Lightbringer to prevent God from ever taking someone's love from them again.

Outside, the group find Dracula's castle with the aid of the Lightbringer and infiltrate it. As the group split up to look for Alina, Leonardo is defeated by Wraith and bitten by his vampires. Demetria, who is revealed to be Andros' long lost sister, tries to bite him before she is killed by Esme. Lucien finds Alina and the two rendezvous with the group, but the castle's vampires awaken and attack. During the ensuing fight, Leonardo uses his crossbow to break the ceiling letting in the daylight allowing the group to escape. Wraith catches up with the group but Andros imbeds his axe into him using him as an anchor, to allow the group to fast-rope down to safety. Wraith is pulled into the light and dies. The group gathers demon hunters outside and storm the castle. As one of Dracula's knight attempt to harm Alina, she calls to him and Dracula protects her- turning on his knights. Renfield (who has been watching the battle carefully) bites Lucien and uses his blood to wound Dracula as he is holding Alina. Renfield reveals that he is the one who led the betrayal of Dracula and the actual one who killed Erzebet, and prepares to kill Alina- but Esme kills him. Lucien stops Andros from attacking a mortally wounded Dracula, and Alina helps him to his coffin. As she begs him to heal himself, he asks her, "let me spend these last moments with you, it is better than a century alone".

According to the voiceover at the end; Lucien vanished into the wilderness with a broken heart- Leonardo's descendants continue to hunt vampires- and Alina continues to wait to be reunited with Dracula.

Cast

 * Luke Roberts as Dracula
 * Jon Voight as Leonardo Van Helsing
 * Kelly Wenham as Alina/Erzebet
 * Ben Robson as Lucian
 * Holly Earl as Esme
 * Stephen Hogan as Renfield
 * Richard Ashton as Andros
 * Poppy Corby-Tuech as Demetria
 * Vasilescu Valentin as Wrath

Reception
The film received mixed to negative reviews. It holds 31% positive out of 158 total user ratings on Rotten Tomatoes. On IMDb the film holds a 3.8/10 based on 1,295 reviews. Flickering Myth reviewed the film as having "lacklustre direction, cheap sets [and] poor CGI".