Van Helsing (2004) Movie Review

Utilised by the Vatican to fight the forces of evil, Gabriel Van Helsing (Jackman) is sent to Transylvania to face a foe that legend says can never be killed, Count Dracula (Roxburgh). Dracula has plans of his own however, as he has stolen the power to create life from Dr Frankenstein (West) and intends to use it to generate thousands of his own offspring, spreading pure evil throughout the world. With the help of Anna Valerious (Beckinsale), who’s family has been fighting Dracula for generations and Friar Carl (Wenham), the Vatican’s best scholar and inventor, it is up to Van Helsing to stop the Vampire’s diabolical plan at any cost.

After successfully rejuvenating The Mummy from the Universal Monsters archive, director Stephen Sommers resurrects The Wolf Man, Frankenstein’s Monster and Dracula for his most ambitious project yet, Van Helsing. The problem is that with all these characters something is bound to suffer and that is the plot.

As a visual spectacle, Van Helsing is a treat. Grandiose sets, larger than life characters and action sequences aplenty but the plot is a complete mess. The idea of bringing together three legendary icons in the world of horror seems good on paper, in fact Universal themselves did it constantly in the 30s, 40s and 50s but a tangible story is really needed to bring these three renowned movie monsters together. What this movie delivers paper-thin premise of Dracula needing Frankenstein’s Monster to bring life to his dormant children while he uses werewolves as his servants. Throw in Anna Valerious’s family connection and Van Helsing’s memory loss (which never really gets explained) and you have a plot that only serves to fill in the gaps between action sequences.

Having three villains and a larger than life hero means that screen time is very precious so one of the characters is bound to suffer and for this movie it is Frankenstein’s Monster who loses out. The creature has very little presence or development but it does capture the feeling of sympathy for him, which Boris Karloff achieved in the original 1931 film. Actor Shuler Hensley does a good job but the makeup effects and the design don’t quite have the same resonance as Karloff’s immortal interpretation.

The Wolf Man is brilliantly realised however. The sheer ferocity of the transformation from man to beast is the best since An American Werewolf in London back in 1981. The wolf bursts from within like it was caged inside of person afflicted with the curse. This is an extremely imaginative variation on the werewolf doctrine and the best creature design in the movie. Will Kemp brings out the feeling of overwhelming guilt felt by the character for his actions but doesn’t quite have the presence or screen time of Lon Chaney Jr to make the character his own.

Dracula and his Brides bring the vampiric element to the story. Elena Anaya, Silva Colloca and Josie Maran do an excellent job as The Brides, bringing sexuality, lust and evil to the vampire harlots. The effects for these creatures are very good as they transform from visions of womanly perfection to demonic, winged banshees. Richard Roxburgh’s Dracula on the other hand is the movie’s major character letdown. There is no question that Roxburgh is a gifted actor but he just doesn’t have the look or screen presence to be Dracula. He also plays the role slightly too camp with not enough menace or allure to make you think that he had any real power or influence over any of his subjects or victims. It has to go down as bad casting because he is not Dracula, as you would envision him.

With three villainous icons tussling for the limelight you need a strong hero to steal some of it back. In Hugh Jackman’s Van Helsing you have just that. A cross between Indiana Jones and James Bond, our hero has the look and presence to stand up against these forces of evil. This is another iconic role that Jackman walks easily into and instantly makes his own. It would have been so easy for the hero to get lost within the cornucopia evil but Jackman and director Stephen Sommers have made sure that he gets most of the screen time and development. The beautiful Kate Beckinsale brings another screen heroine to the screen as Anna Valerious. This is another strong female role for the actress and she is becoming quite accomplished in the action stakes. David Wenham is Van Helsing’s answer to Q (James Bond) or Whistler (Blade) as Friar Carl, who invents all of the hero’s gadgets and weapons. Wenham plays the role of the nervous scientist very well and provides a lot of the comic relief.

Writer/Director Stephen Sommers has produced another action packed adventure that is extremely entertaining and fun. Unlike his other films however, Van Helsing doesn’t quite have enough in the plot department or in the main villain to make this as memoriable as The Mummy movies. He should have really gone with one or at push two of the iconic characters because their screen time and the story do suffer for this making Van Helsing more of a short lived roller coaster ride than a memorable adventure.