Dracula Eternal – review

Director: Alan Smith

Release date: 2026

Contains spoilers

Another reimagining of Dracula, this one struggles. It cites Bram Stoker in the opening credits and lifts names… or modified versions thereof… but uses the love story background from Dracula (1992). Not that the love story aspect was the issue, more it was sloppy scriptwriting and the twist. I’m going to spoil the twist as the film broadcast that punch pretty darn early on.

So it starts on Monday evening and a couple are wandering the streets, bored and wanting a drink. First he is attacked by a grey thing – the vampire is seen in man-bat form when attacking but never for so long that the rubber mask is obvious – but the attack is unsatisfying cinematically. CGI blood and then we see him on the floor, a fence by him is then seen to have a huge amount of blood (smear not spatter/spray), with nothing between the close body and fence, and massive bloody handprints. It’s the opening moment of horror in the film and it is badly executed. The woman is then attacked.

Mina and Lucy

Tuesday, and Mina Harker (Cody Renee Cameron, the Neon Demon, Ravenwolf Towers, Verotika and the Obsidian Curse) is walking with her friend Lucy West (LeeAnne Bauer) and let us talk names for a minute. That Westenra is shortened to West is no surprise. More surprising is giving Mina the surname Harker, given that her fiancé is listed as Jonathan Harker (Cardon Ellis) in the credits, one wonders why both had the surname. The other name to mention is Mr Fields (Nathan Smith-Finley); we finally hear his name towards the end of the film but given the character’s dishevelled look, repeated references to “the Master”, and appropriation of Dwight Frye’s laugh he is clearly Renfield.

Nathan Smith-Finley as Mr Fields

Anyway, Mina’s profession is unknown (though mention is made of a photoshoot and studio) but Lucy is an old friend who is there to interview her. They are having a laugh when they are approached by Mr Fields, who grabs Mina and says she is for the Master. Lucy offers a judicious knee to his privates and he leaves. They drive to Mina’s home (to be fair we don’t know if they went elsewhere first) and when they get there Mr Fields is stood by the door. He offers creepy words and then leaves. Lucy follows but loses him immediately, Mina calls the cops.

at the crime scene

So, elsewhere, Detective Mills (Denise Milfort) is at a crime scene. We see fang marks in the neck of the deceased. With a skull on his car hood and covered in tattoos, Detective Paller (Mike Ferguson), does look a tad more gang member than detective but he is Mills partner. This is far from the first victim. Paller is convinced there is a serial killer, Mills has talked to her priest and has come to the conclusion that there is something demonic going on, like vampires. Apparently the only cops in LA, they are sent to Mina’s to discuss the stalking.

Drake and Mina

I mentioned broadcasting punches. Jonathan is at Mina’s when the detectives arrive. Paller waits for an actual invitation before entering and once in is overly attentive to Mina, who asks if she knows him. Later that night Jonathan is attacked by the vampire whilst going home (and there is an alarming lack of concern when he goes incommunicado) and we see Lucy dragged through the house – so the vampire has already been invited (back to alarming, despite Lucy screaming and bleeding wounds on her neck, Mina does not call Mills about the attack in her house till the next morning). Oh, and we discover Paller’s first name is Drake… yeah, he’s Dracula, posing as a detective and working the homicide case where he is the killer.

Lucy turning

It is the laxness in the script that concerns most. With Lucy acting odd (and the film letting her have a gyrate for no real reason after her lesbian advances are rebuffed and before pounding on Mina’s door), Mina decides to contact a priest, picks the first random one she spots online, Father Connor (William 'Bill' Connor, Bloodthirst), and he happens to both believe in vampires and know Dracula’s backstory. Strangely, after he tells Mina about the 15th Century Prince Vlad, who turned from God because his wife died and struck a deal with the devil for immortal life, she uses the name Dracula – though he never mentioned it. You could argue she remembered the name (being his wife reincarnated) but beyond the vague recognition there are no other suggestions of past life memories.

Dracula attacks

Lore is pretty standard, other than Connor telling Mina that Dracula is immortal but can be destroyed if he falls in love again and renounces his pact with the devil, which will lift the curse. Beyond that we get stakes, a silver dagger, and holy items. This was hampered by the lax script and by the fact that they really didn’t put any effort into building a meaningful relationship between Dracula and Mina. This is far from the best, but I have seen a whole lot worse. 4 out of 10.

The imdb page is here.

On Demand @ Amazon US

On Demand @ Amazon UK