Review by John Delia
Bringing you back to the 15th Century with a historical action thriller, the movie The Hunt for Vlad the Impaler is now available on VOD, Blu-ray and DVD. The film has some good acting, direction and production value, especially the costuming and special effects. The filmmakers do explain the history a bit, but I have not fact checked it for the opening dialogue on the subject. Actually most of the audiences that will watch the film will be more attuned to the warring factions and the bloody battles. The film has been dubbed in English so it may throw you off a bit, but for the most part they use adequate voice overs that are equal to each of the characters persona. Get caught up in the story early and you will enjoy it as intended.
Here is the introduction the filmmakers provide: It’s the middle of the 15th century in the area of the Black Sea that borders on the Constantinople Ottoman Empire. In the era of Sultan Murad II in Efak, as the Romanians called it, is the region of Wallachia. It had been annexed by the Ottoman Empire without bloodshed. The Prince of Wallachia, as an assurance of his loyalty, gave his sons Radu and Vlad to Murad II as a warrant. Sultan Murad II brought Vlad to Edirne Palace and provided him the same education he gave to his son Prince Mehmed.
The two grew up together and after a short introduction we find them separated with Prince Mehmed the good leader of his people and Vlad, known as the “Impaler†who has turned evil. This story takes place with a dispute whereby Prince Mehmed, after Vlad’s disrespect for the Pope, sends his fighting Valiants, led by Asgar (Ä°smail Filiz) “Skywolfâ€, to get to the bottom of the matter. Thus begins a trek that will put the Valiants in danger and sets up a battle between good versus evil.
The costuming, locations, sets and make-up help to tell the tale of this remarkable fight between “brothersâ€. The film was shot in Aksaray, Turkey that lies in the center of the country on the edge of Lake Tuz about 2 and a half hours out of the Ankara, the capital of Turkey. The photography is magnificent and delivers some awesome panoramic views. Turkey sits between Bulgaria/Greece and Syria/Iran/Armenia/Georgia. The Black Sea is to its North and the Mediterranean Sea to the South.
The Hunt for Vlad the Impaler has not been rated by the MPAA, but contains extreme violence, disturbing images, language, and brutality.
FINAL ANALYSIS: Aimed at those who like extreme action, the film does deliver. (3 out of 5 Stars)
Specifications and additional video information:
Cast: Erkan Petekkaya, Cem Uçan, Yetkin Dikinciler, Nur Fettahoğlu, İsmail Filiz, Hakan Yufkacıgil, Gökçe Özyol, Rüzgar Aksoy, Gülşah Şahin Uçan
Directed by: Osman Kaya
Genre: Action, Adventure, Historical
MPAA Rating: Not Rated, contains extreme violence, disturbing images, language, brutality
Running Time: 1 hr. 59 min.
Video Release Date: February 4, 2020
Language: English Dubed, or Turkish with English Subtitles
Reviewed Format: Blu-ray
Audio: 5.1 Dolby Digital
Video: 16×9, Aspect Ratio 2.39:1
Subtitles: English SDH
Distributed by: 4 Digital Media
Released on: DVD and Blu-ray, also VOD and Digital HD on leading platforms