Dracula Untold Ending Explained- Eternal Battles For The Fate Of The World

2014’s Dracula Untold starring Luke Evans as Vlad the Impaler, is a creative reimaging of the bloodsucking monster with an eye on historical drama. Like STARZ’s popular Queen series or Hulu’s delightfully demented The Great. Director Gary Shore’s vampire story is steeped in psuedo facts and intriguing fear. Like the original Bram Stoker story, Dracula was born out of fear, necessity, and a desire for power. But, unlike the Stoker story, Shore’s vision looks and feels like a cousin of House Of The Dragons, only with less incest and vampiric bats instead of dragons.

It is action-packed from the opening moments, which find Evans’ Vlad fighting for his life before accidentally stumbling into a cave housing a creature. When he is lucky enough to escape with his life, he learns that he came face to face with a vampire. Swearing the only other person to know about his experience to secrecy, he returns to his family and life. Peaceful Prince Vlad is beloved by his people, but a looming Turkish threat forces him to return to the cave to ask the vampire for help. Unfortunately, the Sultan demanded Vlad turn over 1000 boys, including his son, to be trained as Turkish soldiers. Finding this unacceptable, a war ensues.

Believing there is no other way, Vlad goes to the cave and begs for assistance. The vampire in the cave was cursed to live in darkness, consuming blood. He tells Vlad if he drinks his blood, he will have super strength and be able to win the war. He is also unexpectedly honest and tells him that if Vlad can withstand drinking human blood for three days, he will return to being human. However, if he can not hold back, he will become cursed like the creature for eternity. For all of his bluster, the vampire warned Vlad about what he was doing. He explains to Vlad that the monster will be freed if he drinks, and Vlad will become cursed.

Vlad’s new powers allow him to win many battles but come at a steep price. Vlad’s wife knows something has changed with her husband when she sees how weakened he is by silver. She covers for him, though, and he continues to fight alongside his men. At a monastery, a monk also realizes what has happened. Vlad is exposed as a vampire and exhibits even more powers, like the ability to control the weather. He rages against them for being afraid but does not attack any of them. Instead, he prays for the strength to withstand his urges for one more day, but he is doomed to lose.

The Turks trick him with a decoy, kidnap Vlad’s son, and kill his wife. He turns all of the survivors of the battle into vampires and returns to his family. As Mirena lies dying, Vlad finds her, and she asks him to drink her blood to become powerful enough to save their son. He does so and then turns his entire army into vampires as well. They defeat the Turks, and Vlad becomes Dracula. Unfortunately, all of the men he turned into vampires are now trying to kill his son. He sends his son away with the monk and exposes everyone, including himself, to sunlight to ensure they would not kill innocents or turn more people into vampires. Before he dies, someone pulls him out of the sun and offers him his blood.

The difference between Vlad and the other vampire

In Dracula Untold, Vlad is a fair man who does not want the burden of immortality. He also believed it was an unfair advantage that no one should have. Vlad was also concerned few would be able to control their violent urges and would be forced to kill innocents. This is why he used his ability to control the weather to dissipate the clouds. On the other hand, the older vampire was the opposite of hope and justice. He represented despair. Vlad tried to do the right thing, but the older vampire saved him because he wanted to be locked in battle with his worthy opponent.

The strange Romanian man who calls Vlad “master” and offers him his blood is almost certainly a take on Renfield. The vampire familiar in Stoker’s novel is a devoted servant who, over time, becomes corrupted by his proximity to evil. His consumption of spiders represents how innocent men become tainted and warped by evil. The evil, in this case, is the original vampire and the power he represents. The man was put there to tempt Vlad and make him drink blood.

In all likelihood, the ancient monster set up the initial attack on the Turk group to force conflict between the two groups. The Turks believed Vlad killed their security team, which set off the series of events that caused the war. The bloodsucker was probably lonely and bored and found Vlad a worthy companion or foe. When questioning Vlad about all the men he has killed, he admits as much. The closing moments of the film reiterate his respect for the other Vlad.

What does the ending of Dracula Untold mean?

The final scene in Dracula Untold shows Vlad in our current era, having not aged a day. He survived with the older vampire’s help. Vlad sees a blonde woman who looks just like Mirena. Her favorite poem is the same as Mirena, indicating this is Vlad’s wife reincarnated. Believing they were destined to live together in this life just as they had previously, he walks with her while the other man watches unseen. Mirena’s words sweetly haunt this final scene. She told Vlad those who love live forever.

The original vampire also believes in immortality, but his is based on evil. He echoes the exact words to Vlad as he did in the cave. “Let the games begin.” Presumably, Vlad and the original vampire have both lived competing for the world’s fate since we last saw them. Vlad is the balancing force fighting for humanity even as he is condemned to be isolated from it. These two vampires represent light and dark and good and evil. It is interesting to note that in all of these years, neither vampire was either able or willing to kill the other. This scene implies that this fight for Mirena may have happened countless times and is fated to happen countless more.

Universal’s renewed interest in their monster universe may mean more of Evan’s Dracula Untold. The underappreciated origin story would be a great addition to the universe and a fantastic vehicle for the in-demand actor.