Topic: Ideal Castlevania movie

[The Bizarre Trooper]

Let's be honest here, how great would it be if there was a Castlevania movie but the real question is: What would be the movie story?

My idea of a Castlevania idea would a re-telling of Lament of Innocence where you follow the story of Leon Belmont before and during Lament of Innocence and end's with Leon going to say Rinaldo Gandolfi his farewell and Rinaldo asks Leon what will he do now, Leon slowly turn his head to the camera and says: The Belmont clan will hunt the night! then fade to black to credit, and then, an after credit scene where we see someone at the front of the Castle and it's not Leon, it's Trevor Belmont!

Anyway, what would be your ideas for a Castlevania movie? I'm quite curious on your take for a Castlevania movie story-wise! =)

[Claimh Solais]

Most definitely one based on Castlevania III. It has the most main characters to work with, without ham-fisting other characters or making new characters for.

But overall, I think I'd just prefer a brand new story for the movie.

[theplottwist]

The Adventure and Belmont's Revenge could be neatly packed into a single movie, having Christopher defeat Dracula in the first act, Soleiyu disappear in the second and Dracula be defeated again in the third act. In this model, the story starts simple and introduces the idea of a Belmont fighting Dracula, then it introduces a conflict with Soleiyu's disappearance, and finally a plot-twist and a conclusion with Christopher fighting his son and then Dracula. It also introduces concepts as the reviving castle, and evil cultists working in the shadows to resurrect their master.

I would have no issues with new characters being created here because Christopher's story is simple and allows you to imagine. Keeping the basic framework of the games is a unbreakable rule, but they are much easier to introduce new characters to without violating this framework (such as Soleiyu's mother, the Bartley family suspected of reviving Dracula, etc etc). An entire subplot of the populace hunting the Bartleys while Chrisopher is out fighting Dracula could be made.

The post-credits scene could even be about Dracula reviving during Easter 100 years later, and have Simon come running to Dracula's castle's front gate, as a nice nod to the NES Castlevania intro and a guaranteed hook for a sequel.

Now, derailing the thread just a little, and a rant:

(click to show/hide)

Three things they should NOT, in my opinion, do if they turn Castlevania into a movie:

• Have it be about SotN.
• Have the first movie be about Simon.
• Have the first movie be about Castlevania III.

These are unacceptable for me for a couple reasons:

• There is no way to turn SotN into a successful movie. It'd basically be two hours of invented plots because SotN has not much going on. There being not much forces the scriptwritter to invent a bunch of shit that didn't exist in the game, thus creating a big opportunity for the staff to end up shitting on one of the greatest Castlevania games of the entire series.
  
• Simon is the star of the show, but he is too overused. Focus the first story on building the world (therefore The Adventure, for instance), and then have the second movie be about Simon. The world being properly built allows for Simon to be properly introduced, and allows a lot of creative liberties since his game was simple enough to leave it up to the imagination (unlike SotN). Hell, you could even call the movie "Castlevania II: Simon's Quest" just for more fanservice without ever needing to do a movie about the actual CVII game.
  
• Have Castlevania III be the LAST movie of the trilogy, which will tell the origins of Dracula becoming a threat, the Belmonts starting their feud with him, and will introduce Alucard in a setting where there is a lot happening, thus appeasing both fans of the classics, and fans of the metroidvanias. Having it be the first leaves no mystery to the mind, and doesn't drive the audience to watch the sequels. Plus, if sequels are planned, at least one of them will be a prequel. So, how do you do a prequel to Castlevania III without it being LoI and falling on the "inventing plots to fill time" issue? You don't -- it was MADE to be a prequel, so keep it a prequel.

PS: No goat-fucking jokes. I don't know who thought this was a good idea. It isn't and it has no place in Castlevania.

Every single director/writter I saw up until now saying they'll do an animation/movie of Castlevania seems to have ZERO KNOWLEDGE about what makes the source material good, understanding only the basics. One wants goat-fucking, the other wants Simon and Christopher to be brothers, and a third thinks it should be super-violent and edgy. They all think Dracula should be "~le scary vampire guy living in ~le haunted castle" instead of a demon-warlock-vampire hybrid in a trap-ridden living fortress, bent into destroying mankind. Neither of these guys know what the fuck they are doing, understanding Castlevania too superficially to do a good job, and getting me REALLY FUCKING MAD in the process.

Oh wow. It seems I got a little rilled up. But there are two things Castlevania-related that when I read, I get mad: "Erotic Violence" and "Super Violent", the last being movie/animation-related.

[Briraka]

Me and a buddy came up with an idea. Take the original Castlevania's story and turn it into a movie that's basically Die Hard, but with Dracula. Add in some old practical effects like something out of Clash of the Titans and you'd have what I'd call my ideal Castlevania movie.

[TatteredSeraph]

I think that the sort of visual, practical special effects that would best serve a Castlevania movie would be taking inspiration from Coppola's Dracula.  Those were ALL done in-camera, with layerings of passes on the film.  It was hauntingly beautiful, and insanely effective.  It's some of why the film has aged as well as it has done, as well as Interview with the Vampire - the computer sfx were used very carefully, there to compliment and enrich things, such as the backdrops and such as when Claudia transformed, with her hair turning from sgraggy mess to mop of perfect ringlets.

  I think that the biggets issue with doing a Castlevania film would be a) going for an origins type film, ssetting up the initial conflicts, whilst b) also having enough going on that it's not just a single guy running round a castle.  Why I think that CV III can be thougth of as a good one to go for, especially as you could have stuff cutting to say, seeing Alucard (in armour so not fully revealed) leading groups of Dracula's forces against villagers, and eventually have him become one of the heroes.  But at the same time, I agree it's most liekly better served as being a later installment.  I'd like to see Lament feature, but that has its own inherent issues, such as conflicting with the whole Mathias Cronqvist vs Vlad Tepes Dracula problem.

[Belmontoya]

I would love to see a Castlevania movie cover a part of the story that hasn't been represented in a game.

Here's an idea.

Quincey Morris could be a protagonist. Dracula could be played by Gary Oldman, Coppola could direct, and (if he wasn't dead) the amazing Wojcheich Kilar could compose the score! And it wouldn't hurt to have Anthony Hopkins involved...

Wouldn't that just be so wonderful and definitive that it would almost make another Castlevania movie unnecessary?

[Dracula9]

I'd like to see a prequel movie detailing Mathias meeting Lisa, conceiving Alucard, and her execution spiraling into him becoming Dracula long before I ever see a guy with a whip.

Yes, I know that's basically asking for a better version of Dracula: Untold, but it's what I want goddammit.

[TatteredSeraph]

I'd like to see a prequel movie detailing Mathias meeting Lisa, conceiving Alucard, and her execution spiraling into him becoming Dracula long before I ever see a guy with a whip.

Yes, I know that's basically asking for a better version of Dracula: Untold, but it's what I want goddammit.

That could work nicely.  Question is, how far would you consider taking it to in time?  Lisa's death being at the end?  Would you have an epilogue featuring a posisbly on his father's side Alucard (albeit with some reservations), and Isaac and Hector? 

[Dracula9]

First act would be Mathias exposition working on his "flipping off God by living forever" thing, second act is him meeting Lisa and their relationship developing (possibly a timeskip to cover the years of their time together), third act is her being executed and Mathias taking the name Dracula and going on the warpath starting with the village that killed her. End scene could be a short "rise to power" scene with an epilogue hinting at a lead into Dracula's Curse.

[Belmontoya]

I'd like to see a prequel movie detailing Mathias meeting Lisa, conceiving Alucard, and her execution spiraling into him becoming Dracula long before I ever see a guy with a whip.

Sounds like a good outline for a gothic porno film.

[Dracula9]

I mean we can roll that way too if you want

Hey Vlad, hon, let's show that Edward and Bella how vampire-human sex really works!

[TatteredSeraph]

Sounds like a good outline for a gothic porno film.

Hmm.......  just no.  That would be going beyond the cringe-worthiness of the latest pachislot outing, and Judgement.  Way to ruin a really lovely part of the series.

[Belmontoya]

Hmm.......  just no.  That would be going beyond the cringe-worthiness of the latest pachislot outing, and Judgement.  Way to ruin a really lovely part of the series.

It was a joke!

You didn't think I was serious did you?

And besides... A Castlevania porno would be nothing without the whip. Seriously...

[TatteredSeraph]

I know, but the mental image of that was just too horrific.... XD

[chainsawmidget]

Let's mix and match.  Odds are we're only going to get one shot at this, so we've got to get the poster boys in there. 

I'd actually have Simon be the main character, but use the helper characters from 3 (with Alucard using a design closer to his Symphony look.) 

Have them going on a quest that's part Lord of the Rings part Universal monsters.  Add in the vampire Rosa and that one creepy kid Malus to start with ... maybe Shaft as well.