Parting company with the traditional filmic representations of vampire supreme Count Dracula, this made-for-cable film harks back to the known facts concerning Dracula's real-life "role model," 15th century Transylvanian patriot Vlad Drakul (translation: "Knight of the Dragon"). Hoping to avenge the death of his monarch father, and to free his kingdom from Turkish rule, Vlad (Rudolf Martin) raises an army and stages a revolution, cutting a bloody swath throughout the land. Though a basically sympathetic character at the beginning of his mission, Vlad becomes progressively more murderous and sadistic as the war rages on; he is particularly fond of impaling his victims and hanging their writhing bodies on walls and trees, hence his nickname "Vlad the Impaler." In so doing, he runs afoul of the Orthodox Church, which begins spreading rumors that Vlad is not only a sadistic killer, but also a genuine blood-sucking vampire. All of this hardly matters to Vlad who, in addition to rescuing his people from Turkish oppression, is also bent on settling a score with his treacherous brother Radu (Michael Sutton), who has gone over to the enemy. Filmed on location in Romania under the title Passions of Dracula: A True Story, Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula made its American TV bow over the USA Network on October 31, 2000.
by Hal Erickson
synopsis
