Van Helsing (DVD)

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Meanwhile Van Helsing, who has a habit of killing evil creatures, has been punished for sins by having his memory of the past taken away. In order to make up for his wrongs, he is sent to help the remaining members of a Gypsy royal family to destroy Dracula once and for all, thereby removing a 450 year old family curse from them that they would never reach heaven until they did so. Now that Boris Valerious, King of the Gypsies has ...
...the curse taking permanent effect. Van Helsing, goes with his helper, a Friar called Carl, to Transilvania, where they find themselves unwelcome, but determined they are needed there. Almost immediately upon arrival they attack the wives of Dracula and give the vampire reason for revenge. The battle is on, good against evil and only one will prevail this time.

Despite being a story based on ‘dark’ legends, it’s actually quite an uplifting ... more

I bought this CD ages ago from a sale (back when I was bothering with buying) and it is one of the few that I actually don't regret buying, becuase I have watched it several times and still comes back to it. To be fair it is a bit childish but hey sometimes I like to be childish too!

Story

This is a film that brings together stories of Frankenstein, Dracula and more.
Count Dracula and his three wives live (well, no, they’re dead, actually) in a place that cannot be found. Dracula is a notoriously evil and difficult to kill vampire, with no heart. So far, the vampires have been satisfied to catch a few people from time to time for dinners etc. However, the wives have plans, to build a family of vampire bats. They can reproduce, but to bring their young to life (as they are dead, of course) they need a life and some electric ‘sparks’. Dracula persuades the famous scientist Dr. Frankenstein (Victor) to create the ‘monster’, but the project is interrupted by an angry local mob after the scientist for committing grave robbery.

Meanwhile Van Helsing, who has a habit of killing evil creatures, has been punished for sins by having his memory of the past taken away. In order to make up for his wrongs, he is sent to help the remaining members of a Gypsy royal family to destroy Dracula once and for all, thereby removing a 450 year old family curse from them that they would never reach heaven until they did so. Now that Boris Valerious, King of the Gypsies has been missing for a year, Princess Anna and her brother Prince Velkan, are the only known surviving members of the family that can prevent the curse taking permanent effect. Van Helsing, goes with his helper, a Friar called Carl, to Transilvania, where they find themselves unwelcome, but determined they are needed there. Almost immediately upon arrival they attack the wives of Dracula and give the vampire reason for revenge. The battle is on, good against evil and only one will prevail this time.

Despite being a story based on ‘dark’ legends, it’s actually quite an uplifting film over-all, with plenty of humour and an interesting twist at the end. This makes it an ideal film for people of all ages after certificate. The pace of the story is quick but easy to follow, so it is one of those films where you can relax a bit and even if you miss a few seconds you will be able to follow it still. I would not have wanted to miss anything, though!

Film qualities

The graphics did look blatantly computerised and artificial but were still very impressive. There are plenty of interesting, noteworthy scenic settings, which are sometimes too dark to fully appreciate, but this can be forgiven based on the style of the film.

The werewolves looked quite scary, although again, not particularly realistic. The costumes were well designed and I thought they were quite attractive and fitting to the film. I didn't like the other monster servants, which were supposed to also look dangerous but rather resembled something out of a 'Buffy' episode. They were probably the most unrealistic and tacky, but as you don't really see much of them - they are always rushing about somewhere taking orders - its not so bad! Then there’s the baby bat things, they are also quite ugly, feeble looking but strong. I found them quite amusing to look at.

I enjoyed the soundtrack, although to be honest it seemed to have a slightly futuristic, unnatural tone to it. It was at least different to other music from similar films and had a somewhat unique effect. The opening music was more dramatic and traditional style.
Acting

Hugh Jackman has a cool, charming and humorous style, and he looks great in this film! Rather than Dracula, I think he is the sexy one here. I'm glad the film was called Van Helsing and had this main focus on his character, not just because he is a good actor but also it is nice to see that the good guy can be all those cool things too.

Kate Beckinsale had a fairly convincing accent, although to me it sounded slightly exaggerated at times. It can’t be an easy accent to impersonate, to be honest. David Wenham as Carl also brought a lot of fun and humour into the film.

There are some cheesy, cliché scenes, for instance the howling werewolf, the woman in the arms of Dracula, hypnotised as he prepares to bite her throat, the squealing vampire brides shouting ‘feed my darlings’… or maybe for me that was just annoying, but I’m sure I’ve seen that somewhere else and it really looks quite silly. I also found the voices of the vampire wives a bit irritating and childish but not so overused as to put me off.

Dracula himself, played by Richard Roxburgh, was a bit of a disappointment to me. He did not look exceedingly evil - rather conniving and mean. There just seems to be something missing from his character, but the comic-book-style villain is still present. I suppose for the sake of younger viewers it is better not to have someone completely evil.

Classification

The film has been classified as a 12/12A, so bit of a shame for much younger viewers. I don’t recall any swearing or particularly rude scenes so I guess this is down to the bits of violence in the film. I think most kids can handle this but you’d have to use your judgement a bit.

Conclusion

I have now watched this film several times and am still drawn in by it, almost as though I was watching it for the first time, still excited to see what happens next although I’m sure I know. It is a young, fun and entertaining film and a nice way to pass an evening. It is childish in places but still a good film for most people. Although not brilliant in any way it is very watchable. I would recommend buying the DVD rather than renting or just see it on telly if you really don’t want to spend the money.
 

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