Van Helsing (film)

Van Helsing

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Stephen Sommers
Produced by
Written by Stephen Sommers
Starring
Music by Alan Silvestri
Cinematography Allen Daviau
Edited by
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release dates
  • May 7, 2004 (2004-05-07)
Running time
 131 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $160 million[1]
Box office $300.3 million[1]

Van Helsing is a 2004 American dark fantasy action film directed by Stephen Sommers. It stars Hugh Jackman as vigilante monster hunter Van Helsing, and Kate Beckinsale as Anna Valerious. The film is an homage and tribute to the Universal Horror Monster films from the 1930s and 1940s (also produced by Universal Studios which were in turn based on novels by Bram Stoker and Mary Shelley), of which Sommers is a fan.

The eponymous character was inspired by the Dutch vampire hunter Abraham Van Helsing from Irish author Bram Stoker's novel Dracula. Distributed by Universal Pictures, the film includes a number of monsters such as Count Dracula, Frankenstein's monster and werewolves in a way similar to the multi-monster movies that Universal produced in the 1940s, such as Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man and House of Dracula.

Despite mostly negative reviews, the film grossed over $300 million worldwide and did well with the general public, becoming one of the biggest blockbusters released in 2004.

Plot

In 1887 Transylvania, Doctor Victor Frankenstein creates a monster with the anticipated aid of Count Dracula, who reveals that he plans to use the creature for his own evil plans and kills the doctor as his castle is raided by a mob of villagers. His assistant Igor escapes, but the villagers chase the monster to an old windmill and set it ablaze. The villagers are scared off by Dracula and his brides, who witness the monster and the doctor's research apparently destroyed by the fire.

One year later, after killing the elusive Mr. Hyde in Paris, monster hunter Van Helsing returns to the Vatican in Rome. He learns his mission to destroy Dracula and his amnesia are penance for past, unremembered sins that cause nightmares. He is tasked with helping the last of bloodline, Velkan Valerious and his sister Anna, who must kill Dracula before their ancestors may enter Heaven. Carl, a friar provides Van Helsing with aid and weapons. Meanwhile, in Transylvania, Velkan is apparently killed during an attempt to trap and kill a werewolf, and Anna is attacked by Dracula's brides shortly after Van Helsing's arrival. He saves her life and kills Marishka, one of the brides, but as the last of her line Anna becomes more determined to kill Dracula. That night, she encounters Velkan, who reveals Dracula has a dark secret, but to her horror, he becomes a werewolf and attacks. After she and Van Helsing track him to Frankenstein's castle, they discover that the vampires are attempting to give life to their born-dead children, using Velkan as the source of the power. Van Helsing, dubbed "Gabriel" by Dracula, realizes they had ties in the past. Van Helsing refuses Dracula's offer to return his memory and escapes. The experiment fails however, and the vampire children die, but Velkan turns on Anna as he becomes completely consumed by his curse. The pair then escape together.

Under the remains of the old windmill, Van Helsing and Anna encounter the monster. Because he is not evil, Van Helsing cannot allow it to be killed, even though he claims to be the key to the failed experiment. The werewolf witnesses this and escapes to inform Dracula. Meanwhile, Carl discovers a painting that comes to life, depicting a werewolf and a vampire battling. They travel by carriage to Budapest, successfully luring the remaining brides into a trap and killing Verona. Velkan ambushes the real carriage and bites Van Helsing before being shot and killed. Anna is captured and held as a bargaining chip to exchange her for the monster. They hide the monster in a crypt, but he is taken by the count's undead underlings while Van Helsing and Carl rescue Anna from the count's trap. Returning to the Valerious' castle, Carl discovers an inscription, part of which Van Helsing received in Rome and creates a doorway to the castle. After failing to free the monster from his imprisonment, he lets them know of a cure to lycanthropy that Dracula possesses. Carl determines that the bite of a werewolf is the only way to kill Dracula. He and Anna take Igor to find the cure while Van Helsing goes to free the monster. Igor escapes while the final bride, Aleera, assaults Anna as Carl tries to deliver the cure to Van Helsing. After escaping, the monster saves Anna and urges her to help Carl and Van Helsing. She kills Aleera and arrives at the castle. Meanwhile, the werewolf Van Helsing and Dracula battle. Dracula tries to reason with the werewolf, but Van Helsing bites Dracula, who dissolves into a skeleton. Anna bursts in and is attacked and killed by Van Helsing, but not before she delivers the cure. Van Helsing returns to normal, stricken with grief over what he has done.

At a pyre funeral, Van Helsing witnesses the spirits of Anna and her family ascending into the clouds while Frankenstein's monster rows away on a raft out to sea. Van Helsing and Carl ride off into the sunset.

Cast

Box office

The film opened at #1 in the weekend of May 7–9, 2004. The film grossed US$300,257,475 worldwide of which US$120,177,084 was from the US.[1]

Critical reception

Van Helsing received mostly negative reviews by critics.[2] Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, reports that 23% of 213 surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating was 4.2/10. The site's consensus reads: "A hollow creature feature that suffers from CGI overload."[3] Metacritic rated it 35/100 based on 38 reviews.[4] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times gave the film 3 stars out of 4 stating that "At the outset, we may fear Sommers is simply going for f/x overkill, but by the end, he has somehow succeeded in assembling all his monsters and plot threads into a high-voltage climax. Van Helsing is silly, spectacular and fun."[5]

Soundtrack

The film's original soundtrack was composed by Alan Silvestri.

Merchandise

Board games

Van Helsing appears in a board game[6] designed by Fréderic Moyersoen the creator of numerous successful board games such as Saboteur.[7] The board game was released by Mayfair Games in 2010.

Video games

Vivendi Universal Games published a Van Helsing video game for PlayStation 2, Xbox, PC and Game Boy Advance. The game follows a similar plot to the movie, has gameplay similar to Devil May Cry and the PS2 and Xbox versions feature the voice talent of many of the actors including Hugh Jackman.

Slot games

Van Helsing also features in a slot game produced by International Game Technology. The game is available in real world casinos and online, though users in Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Russia, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey and the US are excluded from playing the online games.[8]

Spin-offs

Sommers expanded the story of Van Helsing in two direct spin-offs:

Reboot and shared universe

In May 2012, Universal Pictures announced that they are rebooting the film with Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci as a two-year deal to produce a modern reimagining and Tom Cruise to star as the title character and also produce the film.[9] Rupert Sanders is in talks to direct the film.[10] Orci spoken to IGN that he has hinted that both The Mummy and Van Helsing reboots will have a shared universe.[11][12] On November 11, 2015, Variety reports that Jon Spaihts and Eric Heisserer will write the reboot, but Cruise left the film.[13]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Van Helsing". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2014-10-12.
  2. ↑ Wloszczyna, Susan (2004-05-10). "Marketing goes to heroic measures". USA Today. Retrieved 2014-10-15.
  3. ↑ Van Helsing Movie Reviews, Pictures. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2011-01-01.
  4. ↑ "Van Helsing". Metacritic. Retrieved 2014-10-15.
  5. ↑ Ebert, Roger (May 7, 2004). "Van Helsing". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2012-05-09.
  6. ↑ Van Hesling Board Game review by BoardGameGeek
  7. ↑ Fréderic Moyersoen Fréderic Moyersoen profile page at BoardGameGeek
  8. ↑ IGT Slots Blocked Territories
  9. ↑ "Orci, Kurtzman sign two-year Universal deal". Variety. 2012-05-02. Retrieved 2012-05-02.
  10. ↑ "BREAKING: Rupert Sanders Circling Universal's Tom Cruise-Starring VAN HELSING". Twich. 2012-10-10. Retrieved 2013-01-23.
  11. ↑ Bob Orci Discusses Van Helsing Reboot
  12. ↑ Forget Franchises: Why 2014 Will Be Hollywood's Year of the 'Shared Universe'
  13. ↑ Kroll, Justin (November 11, 2015). "Universal’s ‘Van Helsing’ Reboot Enlists Scribes Jon Spaihts and Eric Heisserer (EXCLUSIVE)". Vairety.

External links

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