If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Good movie but grossly overrated

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

... and I freakin' love it. This movie, whatever flaws it has (and it has them in spades), has one thing going for it BIG TIME: Heart.This cheap piece-o-crud flick has so much heart, with every single actor giving it everything they've got (which isn't always a lot, but SOMETIMES it is!) I just have to ... well ... Ah jeez, I love this movie.What can ya do? You just can't NOT love a movie with this much heart going on in it. The guy who plays the bad guy is actually... quite awesome. I mean, he actually does a superb job here. The three college chicks are good too! I mean, these actors really seem to CARE about this garbage they're involved in! And, bless their hearts, it shows.This thing should have more fans, end of story. Watch it -- you'll be glad you did.

This is easily #1 in my favorite vampire movies. Without any further ado, let's get into the story.It starts out with King Vladislas (Angus Scrimm) in his castle, drinking from a relic called the Bloodstone. His firstborn son Radu (Anders Hove) comes in, confronts him and kills him.Three college students, Michelle (Laura Tate), Lillian (Michelle McBride), and their foreign exchange student friend Mara (Irina Movila) travel to Transylvania to study the local folklore and, by chance, run into the ancient evil vampire Radu Vladislas.Definitely recommended for people who love vampires and B-movies. There should really be more vampire movies like this these days, not the crap like Twilight that we get instead. Great special effects, too! 10/10

OK, so you've probably heard of Count Dracula, and Vlad the Impaler, but there is more to the history of the Vampire.In Romania the myth of the Vampire is as old as the hills. The people there really did feel a need to put a wooden stake through the heart and cut off the head of the recently dead who they suspect might be a vampire.Of course this and every vampire movie owes a debt to Bram Stoker. And this movie also obviously just rips the look of 'Nosferatu' for the main vampire guy - but he looks freaking great! And the special effects at the beginning with how he snaps off his fingers is really well done and cool and creepy disgusting.This is a good movie. Its filmed in Romania, at a real castle. The plot is interesting, this is as good as anything Anne Rice has come up with. I'm looking forward to watching the sequels.

Frightfully original and bewilderingly entertaining tale of Radu, an evil vampire played by Greenland (in the Kingdom of Denmark) actor Anders Hove. Radu desperately craves the ancient relic of the Bloodstone, a stone that actually drips the blood of saints. Three visiting American women get caught up in an ancient vampire feud. Radu has slain his father (Scrimm) thus resulting in the wrath of his good vampire brother Stefan ('General Hospital's' Michael Watson).Truly original story and sharp direction by Full Moon regular Ted Nicolaou (who admits that when Charles Band asked him to direct, in Romania, he thought it was some kind of scam). Speaking of Romania, the post Communist country still in a state of post war fear - hotels riddled with bullets and protest marches through the streets over loss of jobs and the terrifying economy - is a superb setting with grand ruins, beautiful woodland and excited locals in supporting roles. This was one of the first films made in Romania after the fall of Communism and the cast and crew overcame huge odds to produce an original, scary, bloodthirsty and fun film. Laura Tate as Michele is good as are the other leads but Denise Duff (in the sequels) makes Michele more appealing and gives her real heart. Horror actor Angus Scrimm merely rehashes previous roles he has played but is still fun to watch. Eerie music score and cruel Minions (small red creatures that help Radu - originally played by real local people but they were so passionate in the roles that it didn't work and David Allen's fantastical animation had to be used instead) make this an all round entertaining film.