Having (as I often like to do) gone into watch Wrath of Dracula without having watched any trailers or reading any plot details about the film, I was expecting a film I’d probably enjoy , but also expecting  to see another retelling of the Dracula story, one that I  had seen many time before, whether its the Francis Coppola Dracula, or the Christopher Lee Dracula, or a few other Dracula films that I have seen over many years. I must admit, I’m not a huge fan of Dracula movies at least the ones that retell the classic story in pretty much the same way. It is a story i like but its just one that I’ve seen overdone over the past however many decades its been since I saw the first one. 

However. What I did see when I watched Wrath of Dracula, was a breath of fresh air to the tale of Count Dracula and writer director Steve Lawson (Rippers Revenge, Hellriser) and the rest of the team behind Wrath of Dracula have managed to reignite my happiness when it comes to seeing new Dracula movies. Whilst the classic tale of Dracula tells of Jonathan Harker who travels to see Dracula and find himself somewhat trapped inside the castle whilst dealing with the blood sucking count. Wrath of Dracula shifts the focus to Mina Harker who sets off to track down her missing husband Jonathan (played by Dean Marshall) . Along the way Mina encounters Van Helsing who trains her mentally and physically to be able to take on not just Dracula but also his three servant brides.

Having Mina and Van Helsing centre stage in Wrath of Dracula is such a great idea and Hannaj Bang Bendz (I Am Rage) as Mina and Mark Topping (Trafficking) as Van Helsing are a great pairing on screen and their scenes are up there for me as highlights of the film especially Hannaj who as Mina has some wonderful fight choreography in the film and whilst I don’t think I’ve seen this type of fighting in a Dracula movie before, they fit in perfectly to the world that the stories set in. Id seen Hannaj Bang Bendz recently in the film I Am Rage and if you haven’t see that one. Do check that out. Hannaj is great in both films.

It was a few hours after I had finished watching the film when I found out that this wasn’t Mark Topping’s first outing as Van Helsing and that he did play the role in 2021’s Bram Stoker’s Van Helsing (also written and directed by Steve Lawson) so ill be checking that film out soon when I can. Mark’s wonderful as the doctor, professor, lawyer, philosopher, scientist and of course vampire hunter (there’s a nice little mention in the film that leads me to think this isn’t the last time we will see Van Helsing investigating a mythical creature after this film has ended) 

There is so much to like about Wrath of Dracula including its beauty. For what I’m sure wasn’t a high budget, the film doesn’t look low budget and the scenery, locations and production design all look great (especially the wide shots of creepy castles and forests I wouldn’t dare go into) So to all the team behind the look of the film. wonderful work!  I also definitely have to give a mention to Sean Cronin who is great  (as I knew he would be) in the titular role.

I’ve seen Sean Cronin in many films over the years (including indie films such as Kill Kane, and Hackeys Finest, but also big studio pictures such as Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, and The World is Not Enough) and he’s perfect casting for the role of an intimidating dominant in Wrath of Dracula (yes Sean plays Dracula) also wonderful in the film are Dracula’s three brides who will follow Dracula’s commands and do his bidding. Jasmine Sumner  (Old Street) as IIsa, Marta Svetek ( I Am Rage) as Frida, and Ayvianna Snow (The Lockdown Hauntings) as Maria are on top form as the servants of the Count and anyone who gets in their way. Watch out! they are hypnotic to the viewer, so i can only imagine that if I were in the same room, id be dead!  Great work Jasmine, Marta and Ayvianna! 

So yes, what you’ve ready is perhaps the longest version of ‘hey this films tons of fun- watch it’ that I could have written, but you know what. I went in thinking ‘I’m sure its fine’ but I got to the end credits having watched a wonderful film made by a great team, and telling a really good story that took a different path to the one I thought it might be (and its better because of that) So I give Wrath of Dracula all thumbs up and definitely recommend it.

WRATH OF DRACULA is out from August 28th from High Fliers Films.

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