VAN HELSING (2004)

VAN HELSING (2004)

Tagline – The One Name They All Fear...

This thing... man... whatever it is... evil may have created it, left its mark on it... but evil does not rule it. So I cannot kill it.

This one happens in the late 19th century and famed monster hunter Dr. Gabriel Van Helsing (played by Hugh Jackman) heads to Eastern Europe to do battle with Dracula, a wolf man and Frankenstein’s monster. He runs into an untrusting but bold, champion of good named Anna (played by Kate Beckinsale).  Outside of having an accent that feels very out of place in this film, I loved Kate but almost wished that they had picked someone else for the role, who had the accent required “naturally”.

The premise for this film is brilliant with Count Dracula seeking to bring his thousands of “born dead” children to life using Dr. Frankenstein’s monster and his malicious cohort Igor. With the exceptions of The Invisible Man, The Mummy, and CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON, this movie has everything. There is a strong faith element to this thing that may bother some more “sensitive” moviegoers, so if that offends you, then maybe skip this. If that doesn’t bug you the special effects in this damn thing are superb and if you are a fan of the old Universal Monster movies, I would just buy this on BLU-RAY now. VAN HELSING is extremely well thought out, the set designs are epic and the characters for the most part are enjoyable.  

If you have to make a movie with Dracula in it, I would rather you just call Gary Oldman moving forward.  The Dracula in this film came across as over-theatrical, almost like he thought he was in a completely different movie. I also feel he was one of the weakest characters in THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN playing “M”. This is not to say he didn’t rock other roles. The final battle in this movie is top-notch and has some pretty freaking great lines in it. For pure old-school horror fun, check this one out, and don’t let the nay-sayers get to you.

This movie gives you the unnerving feeling that one day, fans will all look back and wish they had considered a part II. The fact that the movie made $229 Million less than GODZILLA 2014 at the box office, after costing the same to produce, didn’t help matters.

GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF UNIVERSAL PICTURES AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY. 

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