Last weekend I saw Dracula Untold with my Little Brother. Overall I'd say it was nothing special, just typical big-budget Hollywood fare. Every couple of years, it seems, there's a new take on Dracula. This one takes the approach of depicting the vampire lord's origins, tying him to the historical Vlad Tepes, a pretty standard trope. I got the feeling they were trying to do Game of Thrones with vampires.
But it did get me thinking about something I've pondered before (and even brought up here once), which is this: If you could become a vampire in real life, would you do it? By which I mean a typical Hollywood vampire, with all the associated powers and limitations. Just off the top of my head:
- Immortality
- Superhuman strength, speed, and reflexes
- Super-keen senses
- The ability to mesmerize or hypnotize people
- The ability to control the "creatures of the night," like bats and wolves
- The ability to transform into a bat, and possibly even a wolf or a cloud of mist
- Vulnerability to sunlight
- Vulnerability to silver
- Aversion to garlic and possibly holy symbols
- Cast no reflection in mirrors
- Insatiable lust for blood
Of course the details vary from depiction to depiction, but you get the idea. An eternity of night in exchange for staying young and healthy forever, not to mention being a serious badass. I'd prolly do it.
Especially if I could hang around with Tom Cruise.