Dracula: The Impaler is a 2013 American supernatural horror film directed by Derek Hockenbraugh from a screenplay co-written with producers Diana Busuioc, Steve Snyder and Daniel Anghelcev. Also known as The Impaler
The Afflatus Productions-Flawless Production-Full Moon Films co-production stars Diana Busuioc, Teo Celigo, Christian Gehring, Christina Collard, Marcienne Dwyer, Katelynn Derengowski, Rocco Nugent, Mark Jacobson, Mindy Robinson, Gregory Lee Canyon and Vera Nova.
Plot:
Seven friends travel to Transylvania in Romania, to visit the actual castle of Vlad the Impaler where he supposedly sold his soul to the devil over 500 years earlier, but the decrepit castle’s past envelopes them in a bloody ritual…
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Reviews:
“The Impaler has an obviously low budget, a cast of unknown names, and behind-the-camera talent that has not yet reached a level of seasoned professionalism. These are understood ingredients in independent horror, and it might earn the movie some leeway if the effort on display had a sincerer appeal. But even with decent enough starting blocks to build something out of inspired passion, The Impaler barely attempts traversing into original territory.” 40 out of 100, Culture Crypt
“The movie started to get a little interesting as a few of them go missing and others are trying to leave but it appears they cannot. For whatever reason the lighting was dark in the movie, it took away from my enjoyment and received a negative mark. I gave this movie a two because I loved every bit of the locations, sets and sceneries.” Hell Horror
“The plot becomes so convoluted with reconstructed historical and spiritual mythology it gets difficult to tell whether the principal fault lies with Busuioc’s nonsensical script or director Derek Hockenbrough’s apparent inability to adequately light a scene or maintain a sense of continuity.” The Hollywood Reporter
” …the pros definitely outweigh the cons for this film, the locations are great, the castle brings a creepy atmosphere that works really well, all the deaths are filmed as so they could have been done in the time of Vlad the Impaler, and the plot is functional and only slows down to set up something bigger in the end […] If you can get your hands on this film, it’s definitely worth a watch.” Horror News
“The kids are supposed to be between high school and college but look much older and are strident boobs fit only to be killed. It’s all well and good making a misanthropic portrait of horrible folks getting their comeuppance, but this means it’s impossible to care about their fates, work up suspense beyond the issue of who dies next or generate any spookiness.” The Kim Newman Web Site
“Director Derek Hockenbrough’s vision is bigger than his budget, and it shows. The production certainly aims for authenticity, adding a swinging lamp to a train car, for example. But otherwise, there’s no sense of motion in this scene or really anywhere in the film, and the obviously stock-footage insert of some random castle just can’t make up for the lack of scale in the predominantly medium shots, which are so unevenly lighted that the time of day becomes confusing.” Los Angeles Times
” …The Impaler gains in depth the longer it runs, playing a very original variation on the Dracula-theme by highlighting the Satanist rather than the vampiric aspects of the story. Now add to that plenty of suspense, shocks and violence and a general sense of creepiness, and you’ve got yourself a pretty good genre movie. Recommended.” Search My Trash
“Bad lighting and editing bring this movie down. Chances are the lighting issue is deliberate. We’re probably being served the same few sets for an hour. The editing issue, on the other hand, could’ve been avoided. It’s the weakest link. Gore and partial nudity eventually redeem the shortcomings.” Tales of Terror
” … the violence is weakly handled, the pacing slack, and the atmosphere/suspense pretty much nil. What starts at and stays on the lower echelon of B-movie horror mediocrity for quite some time finally clicks into gear — though it turns out that gear is the one that drives the pic straight off the cliff of unintentional camp hilarity.” Variety
Trailer:
Full film – free to watch online:
Related:
Cast and characters:
Diana Angelson/Busuioc … Veronica/Elisabeta
Christian Gehring … Adam
Christina Collard … Ashley
Teo Celigo … Dominic
Marcienne Dwyer … Chelsea
Rocco Nugent … Sean
Mark Jacobson … Greg
Gregory Lee Kenyon … Vlad III
Mindy Robinson … Ivina
Katelynn Derengowski … Levy
B.D. Freakin … Andrei
Korbyn Hawk Hanan … Little Boy
Vera Nova … Concubine
Luca Kahn … Turk Commander
Jennifer Starr … Concubine
Andrew Bongiorno … Captain Turkiye
Victoria Levine … Concubine
Technical specs:
1 hour 26 minutes
Aspect ratio: 1.78: 1
MOVIES and MANIA rating:
