[music playing]
- Father.
- Why have you come?
You were banished from this place.
- The night of the festival approaches.
You summoned my brother home from abroad.
Did you think that I would stand by and let him assume
the mantle of power?
I'm your firstborn.
The bloodstone is my birthright.
- You aren't content to live in peace, Radu.
You crave evil.
The bloodstone would give you too much power.
This can never be.
- Your time is past.
You have nothing more to say about it.
- I prayed it would not be necessary to
destroy you, Radu.
- Destroy me?
Forgive me, Father.
- Ah!
[music playing]
- Hey!
Michele and Lillian!
Over here!
- Hey!
- Hi!
- I can't believe you're here.
- Oh, you thought I wouldn't be here after you've come all the
way from America?
- I knew you'd be here.
I wasn't sure when.
- You have to admit, punctuality wasn't exactly
your middle name in school.
- Come on, you must be exhausted.
We still have a long drive ahead.
- Well, good.
You can tell us everything that's happened
since you left America.
- Let's go.
- So, did you find us a good hotel?
A bathroom, at least?
- Well, I inquired but there aren't
any hotels near Prejmer.
So the lady from the historical society offered to
let us stay at the fortress.
- The Prejmer fortress?
- Mm-hm.
The government maintains a part of the old monastery
there for scholars for using the library.
That's us, isn't it?
- Yep.
- Scholars.
- Well, that's what we said in the grant application.
- Mm-hm.
- What a cute little car.
- Hey, it's a Trabant.
It's made out of cardboard.
- No, seriously?
- Mm-hm.
You want to drive?
- Yeah, OK.
[music playing]
MARA: Come look at this view.
LILLIAN: Wow, this is beautiful.
- Boo!
- Hey.
- Whoa.
[music playing]
- Oh, wow.
It's a parade.
- It's not a parade, dummy.
It's a funeral.
- Come on, let's go around them.
This is giving me the creeps.
- Here we are taught to respect the dead.
[music playing]
- Ladies, I am Karl, caretaker of this historic monument of
the people of Transylvania.
- Hello.
- It's nice to meet you.
- Joel and Rosa will take your things inside.
- Imagine, we're in the very place where 500 years ago, a
handful of Transylvanians held on against an army of Turks.
- Ah, you know the history of Prejmer fortress.
- We studied medieval history together in school.
We're smarter than we look.
- We have only two rooms prepared for you.
I trust that will suffice?
- Oh, yes.
That'll be fine.
We'll flip a coin to see who shares.
- Yeah, loser sleeps alone.
Mm, Posturepedic.
- Oh, this'll do fine.
It'll keep our minds focused on our work.
- [speaking Romanian]
- Hey, what's up there?
A secret passageway for spying on the monks?
- That is a defensive wall.
Come, I show you.
In 1443, Vlad Dracula raised a large army of peasants to
defend all of Transylvania.
While they fought the Turks in a huge battle near
[inaudible]
This region suffered a savage attack.
The survivors held out as long as they could.
Soon, the food and the water ran out.
- I read a translation of one of the survivor's diaries.
- Then you know what happened.
- There were less than 100 left alive in the fortress.
- They were waiting to die, but no one attacked.
Finally, some brave souls went outside the fortress.
They found many dead Turks with bloody throats.
The rest had run away.
The peasants believed it was the work of vampires.
- And still do.
Three nights from now is the festival which celebrates the
night the vampires saved the people of Prejmer.
[mouse squeaking]
- Hey, what's up there?
KARL: Nothing, just an old storage space.
- Oh, cool.
Let's check it out.
- No, the stairs are old and rotten.
- I'll be careful.
Wow.
- The monks who occupied this place were well prepared for
the afterlife.
Come.
There's food.
- Mm, great.
I'm starving.
- [speaking Romanian]
- Are we the only guests here?
Besides the ghosts?
- There is one other scholar staying here at the moment.
- Oh, another folklorist?
- A zoologist.
But I doubt you will see much of him.
He's busy with his work.
If you'll excuse me, I will get the rest of your things.
- Him?
Hmm.
- Here's toasting Prejmer.
May we all publish our
dissertations and get our PhDs.
- Is there any white?
- Oh, in Transylvania the best wine is red--
blood red.
RADU: Bring me the bloodstone.
MICHELLE: This is incredible.
- Mm-hm.
According to the legend, this was a place inhabited by
vampires in the 14th century.
- [speaking Romanian]
- OK.
One, two, three.
Hope this comes out.
There's barely enough light.
MARA: You know, the funny thing about Castle
Vladislas is that nobody ever says anything about it.
- You're right.
Nobody's mentioned it once.
LILLIAN: Let's see if we can
get inside the castle.
I've never been inside one before.
- Come on, we can't right now.
It's getting too dark.
We've got to get back.
- Oh, come on.
Don't poop out on me now.
- Come on, Lillian.
I'm hungry.
- Ouch.
Oh, shit.
- God, are you OK?
We'd better get back and wash it off.
Come on.
- Hi, guys.
- How is your room?
- I think it'll be OK.
What's this?
MICHELLE: Well, you know, I've been thinking
about what Mara said this afternoon, about no one ever
mentioning Castle Vladislas.
And I went through all my notes.
I even looked at the index of all the stuff that's been
published about this region over the years.
Not one mention of the castle.
- Strange, isn't it?
- Well, it just doesn't make sense.
How can something as old and imposing as that castle not be
part of the local lore?
- Maybe even something that's been here as long as that
castle becomes invisible to all but the
most sensitive eyes.
Pardon me if I frightened you.
My name is Stefan Belescu.
- Oh, the zoologist Karl told us about.
- Yes.
- I'm Lillian.
That's Mara, and the hardworking
scholar here is Michelle.
- I thought I should introduce myself so you won't be alarmed
if you see me coming or going at odd hours.
- Would you like to join us?
- I can't at the moment.
My research keeps me busy at night.
- What kind of research do you do?
- I'm cataloging nocturnal animal life
unique to this area.
I'm afraid it's a rather boring subject to most people.
- Oh, no, no.
Not to us.
Um, we're studying the folklore of the region, and
animals often figure in folktales.
Please, tell us more.
- Another time, perhaps.
I must go.
Ladies.
- Animals often figure in folklore.
Please, tell us more.
- Knock it off.
- Hey, wait up, you guys.
Let's rest a minute.
- Not yet, in just a little bit farther up this hill.
MICHELLE: Five interviews in one day.
Not a bad start, huh?
MARA: And this could be the best one yet.
This old lady is very strange.
This is the mask you wear at the festival of the undead?
- It's likeness of the gypsy who made the
truce with the vampires.
Wear the mask and I tell you the story of the gypsy.
The vampires killed the Turks.
And in gratitude, the people said, let them have the great
ruins, which is where the vampires sleep.
The vampires were still hungry.
They would come out of their wings at
night and drink blood.
This gypsy, he knew that the pope of Rome had a stone which
dripped the blood of all the saints.
So she went to Rome, stole the stone, and took it to the king
of the vampires.
And since that time, no one in Prejmer has
been bitten by a vampire.
- You think there are still vampires here?
- Vampire do not die.
They live for many, many centuries.
- And you believe they still sleep in the ruins?
- Stay away from the ruins.
Stay away.
You might interfere with the way things are.
- Well, what do you think?
Think vampires really sleep here?
- Don't be silly.
The peasants here have such colorful imaginations.
- I don't care if Dracula himself sleeps here.
I'm not going another step.
- Strange story, isn't it?
The stone which drips the blood of saints.
- Yeah, there's a fascinating story cycle going on here.
First the peasants can't explain
what killed the invaders.
Maybe it was food poisoning or some disease, something
15th-century people didn't understand.
Lillian, do you--
oh, poor baby.
She must be coming down with something.
MARA: This place has an eerie feeling about it.
Does it frighten you?
- No.
We're probably safer here than any city in America--
as long as we get out of here before the sun goes down and
the vampires wake up.
Mara!
Lillian!
Wake up.
We have to get back.
- What time is it?
- Oh, my God.
We've slept for two hours.
- Come on, before it gets too dark to find the way.
- Don't worry.
We'll take a shortcut through the woods.
[music playing]
- Listen.
Did you hear that?
- Oh, it's probably just an animal.
Don't you think?
- It's all right.
- Stefan.
- You scared this shit out of us!
- We were lost and we thought we heard
somebody following us.
- But you're all right now, yes?
- Yes.
- All right.
I'm going to the fortress.
Come back with me, all right?
[music playing]
Father.
[music playing]
- Such a touching tableau.
Your pain, little brother, makes me feel sick.
It's such a mockery of human feelings.
Our father was a fool.
So are you.
[music playing]
[knocking on door]
- Stefan.
- The king is dead.
- Radu.
[music playing]
[DOOR OPENING AND RUNNING FOOTSTEPS]
[music playing]
- Here it is, Stefan.
This what you looking for?
[music playing]
- Feeling weak, brother?
Don't you realize that the sun is rising?
You too far from your crypt to make it back.
That's what you get for pretending you are human.
I'm taking the castle and those three little beauties as
my consorts.
Tell me, Stefan, is there one you like more than the others?
I'll make sure to treat her with special care.
[music playing]
- Stefan.
STEFAN: Follow him, Karl.
Find his crypt.
- There is no time, Stefan.
You must help me.
Try to get up.
[music playing]
- You must find it.
Find his, his resting place.
[music playing]
- [speaking Romanian]
- Doctor asks if you suffer from anemia?
- No, never.
- [speaking Romanian]
- He wants to known when you cut your arm.
- Yesterday, I think.
- The day before.
MARA [speaking Romanian]
- [speaking Romanian]
- He thinks maybe you lost a lot of blood.
- Get serious.
It's a scratch.
- [speaking Romanian]
- Take this medicine and stay in bed another 24 hours.
- [speaking Romanian]
- Well, I guess this means the festival's out.
- You can't miss it because I can't go.
It's the high point of our research.
- We can't leave her alone.
Yeah, you can.
I'll be OK.
- Stakes cut from ancient oak.
Spear carved from heart of blackthorn tree.
And this, for chopping off his head.
- You've prepared.
You hoped he would return.
- You and your father should have killed
him a long time ago.
I would have destroyed him myself, but I was afraid.
I could never get close enough to drive a
stake through his heart.
But I can get close enough to shoot him.
- Karl, lead won't stop him.
He'll laugh in your face.
- Lead?
No.
I have another idea.
[music playing]
- Rosary beads.
KARL: Cut of wood.
Holy relics.
That is what I will shoot him with,
straight through the heart.
- I'll watch over the girls until dawn.
Can you make sure they leave by tomorrow without telling
them the truth?
- I can try.
- They mustn't know anything, especially about me.
KARL: You are falling in love.
- Don't be foolish.
- The way you look at her--
it is you who are foolish if you think you can fall in love
with a mortal woman.
- She's different.
- From you, yes.
She will die, you will live.
Why do you want to take the risk?
- When I look at her, when I look into her eyes, I--
there's this light.
She makes me want again.
- She has your mother's eyes.
- Yes.
[music playing]
- This festival is based on a very strange old custom.
The peasants used to believe-- and many still do-- that
sickness and misfortune are caused by ghosts, the undead.
Hey, stop looking for Stefan.
Keep your mind on your work.
- To cure the illness that plagued the village, they
brought a white horse through the cemetery and made it jump
over the fresh graves.
If the horse refused to jump over a grave, there lay one
who was undead.
They will unearth the grave, break open the coffin, and
drive a stake through the heart of the undead.
Then they take the heart from the body and boil it.
Everyone will drink from that water, and the
illness will be cured.
- A barbaric custom handed down from ancient times.
- Stefan.
- What are you doing here?
You should be watching over Lillian.
- Well, this is an important part of our research.
- Speaking of research, give me the camera.
I want to make some photos.
[music playing]
- Stefan, what's wrong?
- I'm afraid for you.
You're so beautiful.
This can be such a-- such a cruel place.
If anything should happen.
[music playing]
- I--
I must leave now.
[music playing]
- Mara.
- Hey, what's wrong with you?
- I've got a strange feeling.
I want to go and check on Lillian.
- Is it Lillian you've got a strange feeling for or Stefan?
- I'm serious, Mara.
Can I take the car and I'll come back and
get you in a while?
- You sure you can find your way?
- Yeah.
- And don't worry about me.
I'll get a ride back later, OK?
- OK.
[music playing]
- Tell me what's going on here, Stefan.
Tell me the truth.
Please?
- Centuries ago, my father fell under
the spell of a sorceress.
She was evil and powerful, and she
craved an unusual offspring.
Radu is the issue of that union.
- But you can't be--
- Yes, I am.
But I live in the way of my father, at peace with the
mortal world.
In the years following the siege of Prejmer, my father
fell in love with a mortal woman--
my mother.
Radu and I are half-brothers.
- And your mother?
- She died a very long time ago.
[music playing]
When morning comes you must take her away from here.
But what about Mara?
- If she's not back by morning, Karl will go into the village
and find her.
And then you must leave.
[music playing]
- I must go now and sleep.
Sun will be up soon.
[music playing]
- What are you going to do now?
- I must destroy him.
- I want to help you.
- You leave here.
As soon as the sun is up you leave here and
you never look back.
That is how you can help me.
- I must leave you now, my pet.
But my little friends will keep you
company until tonight.
[music playing]
- It's too late.
- Dear God.
I could not find Mara.
The villagers are afraid.
A woman was murdered last night, her throat torn open,
body drained of blood.
- Oh, my God.
- There is still hope.
She may have found refuge in the village.
- [speaking Romanian]
- The doctor say cause of death was poisoning of the blood.
[distant shouting]
- It is the body of the old woman.
They drove a stake through her heart and cut off her head.
If they find out that Lillian is dead, they will
do the same to her.
He is telling them that you have gone.
They will leave now.
They wanted holy water from the church
to cleanse the body.
- [speaking Romanian]
- Oh, God.
They'd do that to Lillian.
- I will hide you in my truck and take you to Sinaia.
- Not without Mara.
- You must think of yourself.
Pray Mara is safe.
- I can't let them to that to Lillian.
- Then we must bury her quickly.
The villagers are afraid of the cemetery in the ruins.
We must bury her there.
[music playing]
- We must leave now.
It is a long drive down the mountains.
- I'm not leaving until we find Mara.
We have to help Stefan.
- How can you help?
- We can move around in the daylight.
If we can find Radu's coffin, we can destroy
him while he sleeps.
- I know where he sleeps.
[music playing]
I told you to leave.
- Lillian is dead.
And Mara never came back.
- You should have left while they were still alive.
[music playing]
- Stefan, please cross this threshold and enter.
- A vampire cannot enter the house of God unless invited.
You and Karl will be safe here while I search for Radu's new
resting place.
- Tomorrow, while he sleeps, we will open his coffin.
I would put both barrels against his chest and shoot
him with the rosary beads.
Then we will chop off his head and drive in the stake, too.
- I'll go look for Mara.
[music playing]
- Stefan taught me that there is good and evil among
vampires as there is among men.
He also told me that the old tales of the
bloodstone were true.
- The bloodstone really exists?
- A drop of blood from the stone is life to a vampire.
But to Radu, it is like a drug.
The more he drinks, the more he needs, the
more his evil grows.
LILLIAN: Help!
- What's that?
- Shh.
- Michelle!
Let me in!
Please!
- My God, it's Lillian!
We got to let her in!
- No!
It's a trick!
She's a vampire.
If you let her in I will shoot her.
[screaming]
[music playing]
- Mara.
[music playing]
- God, Mara.
[music playing]
Shh.
Mara, Mara.
Shh.
Mara.
Shh.
[music playing]
Stefan!
[music playing]
RADU: Now I have it all.
Don't I, little brother?
The castle, the bloodstone, and your pitiful
little mortal girl.
- No!
No!
It will be such a sweet pleasure to desecrate her
before your self-righteous eyes.
- No!
No!
STEFAN: No!
- No!
No!
[screaming]
[music playing]
- Michelle!
[music playing]
MICHELLE: Stefan!
[music playing]
- Michelle.
Please.
Don't hurt me.
[music playing]
- You can't destroy me, Stefan.
Nothing can.
[music playing]
- Stefan.
The sun is rising.
- The bloodstone.
[music playing]
- Will I be all right?
- I don't know.
- I don't want to be like him, Stefan.
Make me like you.
- I can't.
- No, please, Stefan.
Please.
There's no other hope for me.
[music playing]
- Sleep now, my love.
[music playing]