Dracula Untold, the 2014 revival of the well-known vampire that was critically panned upon release,has found new life onNetflixas it’s climbed its way to the top ofthe streamer’s charts. After one week in Netflix’s Global Top 10, and running behindUltraman: RisingandTrigger Warning, things are looking good for theLuke Evanshorror blockbuster loosely based on Bram Stoker’s novel. Hopefully, it’ll keep going up in the charts and find a way to improve its current 25% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Directed by Gary Shore from a script by the screenwriting duo Matt Sazama and Burk Sharples,Dracula Untoldtook audiences back to the 15th century when Ottoman warrior Vlad Dracula was once known as ‘Vlad the Impaler, Son of the Dragon.’ Vlad is now resentful of his past, but the Ottoman army will not let him go very easily. When they threaten his family, Vlad is forced to seek the help of an ancient creature who offers him powers with one condition: if he can go for a few days without consuming human blood, he will become a human again. Otherwise, he will spend eternity being a bloodsucker. With a slight variation in its plot,Dracula Untoldhad every potentialto be a huge film.
Dracula Untold
Dracula Untoldhas now garnered 6.7 million views and 10.3 hours viewed since Netflix decided to add it to its horror catalog. Not bad for a 10-year-old film that had seemed to vanish from the horror spectrum after critics destroyed it, and it buried Universal Pictures' plan tobring to life its Dark Universe franchise.
Upon release, the film debuted at #2 at the box office, and it would end up making $217.1 million from a $70 million budget. Nevertheless, the performance wasn’t strong enough to get approval for a follow-up from Universal. It’s a stretch, but couldDracula Untold’s return from the dead be enough for Universal to dust off the Universal Classic Monsters blueprints?
Dracula Untold Was the Beginning of the End for Universal’s Dark Universe
Before the release ofDracula Untoldin 2014, some outlets reported that there had been reshoots. Not because the final cut actually needed them, but because execs demanded a connection to Universal’s planned cinematic universe that would modernize their catalog of Universal Classic Monsters (Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, and more) in new feature films. The Dark Universe had officially begun.Or so we all thought.
The problem is that nothing followed after that. Dracula didn’t show up inThe Mummy, the following film starring Tom Cruise. Critics weren’t enamored with this film either, and plans for a cinematic universe fizzled out very quickly. There were talks after that, but years after, Universal decided to call it quits, endingthe possibility of the Dark Universe. They will instead focus on standalone films that could use their iconic IPs but nothing resembling a shared universe of monsters, as was the case with 2023’sThe Last Voyage of the Demeter.
The Best Films About Dracula, Ranked
Dracula has been reimagined in movies countless times, and each time is often different than the last. Here are some of the best.
What’s even more curious is that Universal’s branch of amusement parks has officially used ‘Dark Universe’ asa name for one of their areasin the new park opening in Orlando in 2025. This area will, of course, feature the Universal Classic Monsters as the stars of the show. Hopefully, when the park opens, films likeDracula Untoldwill find new life in streamers, and why not, pave the way for a new cinematic universe.
Dracula Untoldis available to stream on Netflix.
