A terrified man seeks shelter in a dark castle at night. Suddenly, a vampire lunges out from the shadows and bites him. In Greece, Hercules is teaching children at an orphanage how to play basketball. Iolaus doesn’t understand the point of the game. Typically, he thinks the kids would be better off learning to hunt. Moments later, Hercules manages to stop a purse snatcher by throwing the basketball at him. A foreign man named Mateus approaches Hercules after witnessing his heroics. He gives Iolaus and him an urgent message from their old wartime friend, Vlad of Dacia. It states he needs his old friends’ help to defeat the Strigoli, which Hercules informs Iolaus are vampires.
Arriving in Dacia by ship, the threesome is immediately greeted by Galen and his henchman, Darius. After a brief hassle, they decide to travel together to Vlad’s castle high in the snow-covered mountains. Galen explains that his sister, Nadia, was going to the castle with others to seek shelter from the Strigoli. But he hasn’t heard from her since and is worried. On their way up the mountain, Hercules tells Iolaus that vampires can be easily identified in front of mirrors since they don’t have reflections. Halfway up the mountain, the party happens upon a ditch of impaled corpses -- Vlad’s handiwork. Hercules and Iolaus can’t believe the Vlad they knew would do something like that. Darius wonders if this is why Vlad has gotten the nickname of “the impaler”. Mateus shouts out that only an enemy of Dacia would say that. Once Hercules calms the two down, he decides this is the perfect spot to rest for the night since the vampires wouldn’t expect them to camp in such a morbid place.
In the middle of the night, the greedy Darius snatches a gold medallion from one of the impaled corpses. Suddenly, the corpse comes to life and sinks his teeth into him. The others are woken up by Darius’ screams. Hercules manages to impale the vampire, destroying him as his heart is driven through the wood. Galen takes care of Darius, who has turned after being bitten, with a wooden bolt from his crossbow. The remaining four decide to forsake rest and resume their journey to Vlad’s castle.
Arriving at Vlad’s castle, Hercules and Iolaus are greeted warmly by their old friend. Right away, Galen demands to know the whereabouts of his sister and the other refugees. Vlad promises Galen that by morning Nadia and him will be reunited. Once inside their friend’s castle, Vlad and Hercules talk privately in Vlad’s personal chamber. Hercules is quick to mention that he isn't impressed with the fact Vlad is desecrating the dead by impaling them. Vlad explains that after he was forced to kill his own father in self-defense, he became a different man. Shortly after, the Turks attacked Dacia, thus sparking a war that cost many of his people their lives. The war forced him to make a statement about his power to any who would dare attack his country. The impaled bodies are that statement. Hercules understands Vlad's pain, though he still doesn't agree with his methods. Unbeknownst to Hercules, Vlad looks himself over in the mirror and there is no reflection.
Suspecting that Vlad isn’t the same man they knew, Hercules and Iolaus decide to search the castle for Nadia and the other refugees. Galen tags along. After finding a secret passage to the dungeon, the three discover that plenty of frail refugees are being kept in it. Since these people are being systematically drained of their blood, Hercules is certain that they are being kept as cattle for the vampires. He decides to have a talk with Vlad, who he suspects is one of the Strigoli. Before Hercules goes, Galen tosses him a vile of hemlock to use on himself incase he gets bitten -- his death will then be quick and painless. Moments later, when Hercules confronts Vlad about his suspicions, Vlad is up front with his friend about what is going on. He states that his father was a vampire, as he is now. At first, he wanted Hercules to kill him since he was sickened by the monster he had become, but that all changed when he realized he now had a chance to protect his people like he never could before. As Hercules tries a more forceful approach in reasoning with Vlad, the vampire disappears into the darkness. Meanwhile, Iolaus and Galen continue to free refuges from Vlad’s dungeon. They don’t find Nadia, although she finds Galen moments later, biting his arm off after the two embrace. When Iolaus finds the dismembered Galen laying on a table, he goes to help him. Suddenly, Galen’s arm grows back since he was turned into a vampire when Nadia got hold of him. Moments later, Nadia bites Iolaus, turning him into a vampire as well. When Hercules finds his best friend, he spots the bite marks on his neck, knowing immediately that he’s been turned.
Hercules helps Iolaus out into the hallway leading to the dining hall. There the two are confronted by Vlad. The vampire demands Hercules’ blood for Iolaus’ life. Though he knows Vlad would have the power of a god if he drank his demigod blood, Hercules can’t stand to lose Iolaus a fifth time. He reluctantly agrees to step into Vlad’s spiked coffin, which drains Hercules of a great deal of his blood. Vlad and his “children” then drink the blood from a large golden chalice. Much to their surprise, instead of getting more powerful, they begin to weaken. Hercules reveals that he drank hemlock before he stepped into the coffin. It drained right out of his system along with his blood. Though the hemlock has weakened Vlad, he still has enough power to attack Hercules. Although Vlad summons Galen, Nadia, Mateus and Iolaus to help him, Iolaus resists the urge to obey Vlad’s command. Instead, he helps Hercules by preventing the other three from attacking him. After a long, hard fought battle, Hercules hurls a stake into Vlad’s heart, destroying him once and for all. Iolaus and the others are no longer vampires.
Starring: Kevin Sorbo (Hercules), Michael Hurst (Iolaus)
Guest Starring: Jeffrey Meek (Vlad the Impaler), Stephen Lovatt (Galen), Tiffany de Castro (Nadia), Rafe Battiste (Darius), Jon Brazier (Mateus), Norman Fairley (Headmaster), Marcel Kalma (Vampire), Irene Malone (Vendor)
Written by Phyllis Strong
Directed by Philip Sgriccia