Blu-ray

Universal's ongoing struggle to reinvent its 'Classic Monsters' franchises for modern cinema audiences  hits another snag with this curiously anaemic origin story for the king of the vampires.

No doubt informed by the lacklustre box office that greeted 2010's blood-strewn The Wolfman, this latest re-imagining is presumably designed to appeal to a much wider audience. As such, it misses the entire point of the character's deathless appeal and presents Vlad/Dracula (Luke Evans) as a tragic, romantic figure, forced into a deal with the devil in order to save his kingdom from an invading army.

To make matters worse, the decision to recast the character as a good guy and take bloodsucking off the table in favour of super strength and the ability to transform into a cloud of bats renders Dracula Untold little more than a medieval superhero film. And it's not even an original one – as it hits every predictable character and story beat you could guess at.

So, just like Van Helsing and The Wolfman before it, Dracula Untold is unlikely to reignite audience interest in Universal's enviable roster of legendary beasties. It's a good job that those of us who do still care about them can revisit the brilliant originals on Blu-ray and DVD...

Picture: Dracula Untold rises from the grave on Blu-ray with a stylish AVC 2.40:1 Full HD encode. Rich, vibrant primaries combine with impenetrable blacks (that are occasionally prone to crush) to give the film a particularly eye-catching aesthetic. Detailing is generally very good in well-lit scenes, but the surfeit of grain that raises its head in darker sequences – when added to the amount of post-production colour grading – has a tendency to rob the image of finer textures and details.
Picture rating: 4/5

Audio: The DTS-HD MA 5.1 mix is par for the course considering the film's modern, action-packed bent. Epic battle scenes, found in Chapters 8 and 14, bewitch with their power and dynamic range, while Dracula's final showdown with Dominic Cooper's Turkish Sultan features silver coins raining down from above them, highlighting an assured and effective use of the soundstage.
Audio rating: 5/5

Extras: Director Gary Shore and production designer François Audouy are on hand with an interesting commentary that isn't afraid to point out studio-mandated changes to the film. The duo also provide optional commentaries for the alternate opening and six deleted scenes included on the disc.

Also included are four Making of… featurettes and 16 The Land of Dracula behind-the-scenes vignettes.
Extras rating: 3/5

We say: More “Bat-Man” than Dracula, this latest bigscreen reinvention of the famous vampire lacks bite

Dracula Untold, Universal Pictures, All-region BD, £25 Approx
HCC VERDICT: 2.5/5