The Ending Of Dracula Untold Explained

"My father was a great man. A hero, so they say. Sometimes the world doesn't need another hero; sometimes what it needs is a monster," Vlad (Luke Evans) postulates. Morality isn't always black and white. Often, there's a vast grey area. And in Dracula's case, it's coated red with blood. "Dracula Untold" seeks to rewrite the legend of Dracula by threading in Bram Stoker's original inspiration for the bloodsucking creature of the night. Vlad the Impaler or Vlad III Drăculea, a true-to-life warmonger, led a life of barbarity and bloodshed. But Evans' take on the character suggests that such violent displays were necessary to keep enemies at bay and prevent further carnage. It's the horrors of pain and death that speak to the souls of every man, woman, and child. And Vlad knows this.

Universal Pictures has often attempted to revive the classic monsters that were once so popular during the early half of the 20th century. Most modern efforts have failed commercially. But there's still an air of intrigue surrounding these mythical creatures that have permeated pop culture and influenced some of our favorite television shows, novels, and films in the modern era. Bela Lugosi is often inseparable in our minds from the character of Dracula given his 1931 performance on screen. Since then, however, others have plunged their fangs into the role including Gary Oldman in Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 film, "Bram Stoker's Dracula." No matter which iteration of the character you refer to, Dracula has often been seen as evil incarnate. "Dracula Untold" blurs the lines of good and evil, providing us a more sympathetic view of the monster. For your reading pleasure, we'll take a look at the themes and implications of the narrative behind "Dracula Untold."

As a warlord, Vlad no doubt earned his title. Historically, Vlad was angered by the murder of his father and older brother, a heinous crime enacted by Wallachian nobles (via Brittanica). Many of the nobles alongside Vlad's younger brother, Radu, were in league with the Ottoman sultan. Vlad vied for his father's seat over the course of several years. Once he obtained the leadership, he began a ruthless campaign against the Ottomans, barbarically impaling the opposition and leaving them hoisted on spears to bleed out and die. He'd create frightful imagery of death that was meant to act as a deterrent to any pursuers. Vlad was known for his cruelty on the battlefield. Other historical accounts show that he had a penchant for maiming and torturing his enemies (via Historic Mysteries). He was known to boil victims or dismember them while alive. By all modern accounts, he was a pretty bad dude, though some viewed him as a hero for aggressively staving off total Ottoman rule.

The film depicts Vlad in a very different light. While he is shown as the warlord we know from the history books who famously impaled his victims, Luke Evans portrays a man who's crippled with remorse over his past deeds. His only true motivation is to defend his family. He even justified his cruel means of administering death as a way to stave off further bloodshed. This Vlad is far more sympathetic and heroic than any of the history books will ever give the man credit for. His conflict with Mehmed II is simply born out of the threat the sultan poses to his son and the children within the walls of his kingdom.

As we've already established, "Dracula Untold" embraces shades of grey as far as moral philosophy is concerned. Vlad, a prince of Wallachia and Transylvania, must determine the best way to protect his people from the encroachment of Turkish invaders. As a leader, this forces Vlad into the position of determining his own code as he forges ahead among kingdoms, empires, and bloodshed. Vlad the Impaler is known historically for his depravity. Given what we know about him, it's likely that he took pleasure in maiming and killing his victims as a form of vindictive rage towards the Ottomans. However, "Dracula Untold" depicts a Vlad whose uncompromising method of cruelty and death is suggested to be his own means of staving off further bloodshed. He tells the ancient vampire of Black Tooth Mountain that he only put one village to the spear in a grisly display in hopes it'd stoke enough fear to save 10 more villages from certain death.

Therefore, the Vlad of "Dracula Untold" embraces a utilitarian philosophy, one that determines results based on the greater good. His nickname as an Impaler was only a result of the prince attempting to cause enough fear in his enemies that they'd stand down despite how grisly and horrific the death sentence actually is for those who suffered from it. Vlad embraces the same ideology when it comes to defending his kingdom from Mehmed. Even if he has to damn his own soul, he'll take the powers that vampirism grants him to aid his kingdom.

The only way to bring down Superman is with Kryptonite. As a vampire, Dracula is a demonically twisted form of Superman. The film calls out his Kryptonite fairly early in the film when the vampire of Broken Tooth Mountain tells Vlad to hide his silver because it "offends him." Silver has long been a weapon to be wielded against mythical creatures of the night, including werewolves and vampires. This is often tied to the idea that silver was used as payment to Judas Iscariot for his betrayal of Jesus Christ. This religious significance was further discussed in "Dracula 2000" (per CBR). The metal is often seen as a reminder that the creatures are damned eternally just like Christ's betrayer.

Some viewers may not pick up on the fact that Vlad makes use of this weakness for his own benefit. The silver ring that he wears now only brings him pain. But he keeps it close and is seen hovering over it in his own tent during the height of his temptation to drink blood. Vlad is actually using the silver to weaken him and help him resist the urge to drink the blood of another human being. He was insistent toward fulfilling the deal as told by the vampire of Broken Tooth Mountain without the cost of his soul. Of course, Vlad would've actually made it to the finish line if he wasn't forced to require his powers beyond the three-day time limit to save his son.

Dracula was never merely Vlad's three-day stint as vampire. Bram Stoker's tale of the undead creature spans centuries. We always knew that something would drive Vlad to drink the blood of the innocent. We just weren't sure what that catalyst would be. After all, he seemed rather convicted in disappointing the vampire of Broken Tooth Mountain proving that he could resist the urge. But even he knew that Vlad would be forced to take hold of the power and live the life of a damned soul.

Ultimately, Mehmed threatens the life of Vlad's son. After his wife (Sarah Gadon) falls to her death, she begs Vlad to drink her blood with her dying breath so that he might have the power to save their son. Essentially, she asks her husband to forfeit his soul and live an eternity in darkness in exchange for saving their son from the Ottomans. That's a hefty price tag to ask a significant other to swallow. But it seems Vlad didn't take long to think it over as he buries himself in her neck and ultimately becomes Dracula, son of the Devil, as he proclaims to Mehmed. It's hard to truthfully reconcile every burden Vlad thrust upon himself in the name of securing his son's physical wellbeing. Not only is he forced to live an eternity among misery and death, but he'll eventually see a time when his son will grow old and pass on. The question will then become, was it worth it? As a parent, the answer is undeniable — especially in the heat of the moment. However, we're talking about eternity in exchange for the temporary. It's almost tragic.

Clearly, Universal Pictures has long dreamt of reviving their classic monsters through a magnificent universe akin to the successful Marvel franchise. "Dracula Untold" was supposed to be the start of such a venture. While the film didn't bomb financially, it didn't rake in Marvel numbers either. The movie studio moved on and attempted another revival — a "Dark Universe" — with the Tom Cruise-led "The Mummy" remake. This, however, proved to be a disaster. Still, there are plenty of thoughts about what could have been. After all, the finale scene of the film depicted a modern world in which Dracula is alive and well wandering the streets among average humans. Charles Dance's vampire is lurking in the backdrop and teases fun events yet to come.

Will there be a "Dracula Untold 2"? The idea hasn't been entirely scrapped. However, the prospects remain grim given that Universal has plenty of other monster projects lined up. The studio seemingly abandoned its cinematic universe scheme, dropping follow-up "Dark Universe" films from its schedule and outsourcing an "Invisible Man" film to Blumhouse Productions. Still, the film is slowly building a cult following of fans hoping to see a follow-up someday (via Collider). Universal has never stated that the potential for a sequel is dead. So only time will tell. But given the current schedule over at Universal, we most assuredly won't see anything else from Luke Evans' Dracula in the near future.