Was Dracula Untold An Underrated Gem?

gamerant.com:

Some stories attain a level of immortality that transcends honor, goes beyond legacy, and becomes a curse that dooms the text to eternal retelling. If there's one icon of popular fiction who understands the pains of immortality, it's unquestionably Dracula. Some of his eternal lives just don't work out as well as others.

The Universal Monster films were the most powerful IP of the black and white film era, but their modern incarnations have been hit-and-miss at the best of times. Creators mix and match icons to new genres, tell stories in new ways, go looking for new perspectives, and try just about anything to keep these pop culture legends alive.

10 Scariest Dracula Portrayals

Dracula Untold was the first, and thus far only, feature-length directorial effort Gary Shore. His other claim to fame are those mobile game ads from 2014 with Kate Upton, so the film is really his biggest cultural moment. The film was originally pitched in 2007, under the title Dracula: Year One, probably inspired by the well-known Batman storyline. Alex Proyas, director of The Crow, I, Robot, and Gods of Egypt, was originally attached, but the budget on that project grew beyond Universal's bounds, and he was dropped. Proyas was the better choice for the project, and it would've been interesting to see what the man behind Dark City would've brought to the film. Avatar star Sam Worthington was originally slated for the starring role but was dropped alongside Proyas due to budget. Luke Evans stepped in, fresh from Fast & Furious 6, and the project was underway with countless little bumps in the road.

Dracula Untold attempts to interweave the classic vampire mythos that Bram Stoker's Dracula popularized and the historical figure that inspired Stoker.