"Castlevania: Prelude to War"

Reviewed by Sam Mills

For more information about this movie--including images, sounds and vidoes--please go to www.benisaac.com.

Castlevania: Prelude to War is a short film based on the Castlevania series. At about 30-40 minutes long, there isn't a lot of time for a deep, detailed story, but the film wisely packs in the atmosphere and contains some surprisingly good action. There is little dialog onscreen, but the film is narrated by our character as he makes his journey to the gates of Dracula's castle. This is about an event that occurs before the first Castlevania game.

We see our hero walking through the woods in winter. He comes across a priest, and they make camp for the evening. It's a somewhat tense and quiet camp. When the "priest" fails to cast a reflection on his helmet, he knows what he's in for. From there, the film focuses much on action as he battles the vampire.

However, the film is just more than a series of fight scenes. There is a dream sequence that is also well done. Our hero stuggles with his destiny both inward and outward. As he goes against the elements, there is sorrow and even hesitation we can detect underneath his strong narration.

All of this is filmed in a way that I would describe as living sandstone. While a few brief shots have a camcorder look, the majority of the film looks rich and well shot. Bleek colors fill many scenes. The dream sequence uses bright colors and some choppy movement that really feel like a dream. The scenes at night have the feeling of a nightmarish campout. And the cinematagraphy is certainly well captured, a lot of it qualified to be called beautifully spooky.

What really carries the film is the tone. All throughout the film, the director's score plays. It is a score worthy of Castlevania, and a few times, had me thinking of Castlevanina: Symphony of the Night and Lament of Innocence. Even if you removed the narration and brief dialogs, this film would work great as a silent film. It's a dark, humorless film, but it's never depressing or boring.

As for the fight scenes, they are exciting and neat. There is one scene in particular when our hero fights the vampire with his whip in flames, only to be attacked back with balls of flames. A real sense of suspence ensues, and it's apparent our hero is a force not to be messed with.

All this could have gone very wrong, but the director, Ben Isaac, certainly seems to know what he's doing. The DVD contains a making of featurette, which explains that the film was made on a small budget and crew. But talent is what counts, and the film certainly benefited from it. While the film isn't full legnth, a lot of work went into it, and it shows.

I admit that I was a little worried at first. Being a huge fan of the games, I knew the games could be translated to film, but I didn't know if a film maker would know how. Truth be told, this film acts only as a prelude to the action that apparently goes on in the games. That's the whole point. While I would have loved for the film to delve even more into the world of Casltevania (there is no grim reaper, no real spooks) this film doesn't pretend to be the war itself. It is a prelude to war, and for what it was, I enjoyed it a lot. Here's hoping this is only a prelude to more films to come from Ben Isaac. If this film is any indication, we'll have a lot of terrific adventures in store in the future.

Sam Mills can be reached by email at sammycut1@aol.com

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