Van Helsing (film)
Encyclopedia
Van Helsing is a 2004 American action horror film
directed by Stephen Sommers
. It stars Hugh Jackman
as vigilante
monster hunter Gabriel Van Helsing, and Kate Beckinsale
. The film is an homage and tribute to the Universal Horror Monster
films from the 1930s and '40s (also produced by Universal Studios
), of which director Stephen Sommers
is a fan.
The titular character was inspired by 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
, the 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
.
Doctor Frankenstein
(Samuel West
) brings to life his Monster
(Shuler Hensley
) with the aid of his assistant Igor
(Kevin J. O'Connor), and Count Dracula
(Richard Roxburgh
). Dracula kills Frankenstein after revealing that he helped him only so he could use the Monster to bring his undead children to life. The Monster then escapes to a windmill, which is burned down by a pursuing mob. The mob flees as Dracula and his three brides
, Verona (Silvia Colloca
), Aleera (Elena Anaya
) and Marishka (Josie Maran
), mourn the loss of the Monster and their chance to bring their children to life.
One year later, the Knights of the Holy Order, stationed at the Vatican
, dispatch Gabriel Van Helsing
, who has amnesia
, to kill Dracula. He is also tasked with preventing the last of the Valerious family from falling into purgatory
; the family swore to kill Dracula nine generations ago and is unable to enter Heaven
until they succeed. He is given a torn piece of paper with an insignia on it. He is joined by Carl (David Wenham
), a friar
who provides support and weapons.
Arriving in Transylvania, the two meet Anna Valerious (Kate Beckinsale
), who tells them her brother Velkan (Will Kemp
) was recently killed by a werewolf
. Van Helsing then saves her from Dracula's brides as they attack the village, ending with Van Helsing killing Marishka as the others escape. Anna then takes the pair back to her castle. Anna is determined to kill Dracula herself, but Van Helsing is unwilling for her to take the risk, knowing that she is the last of the Valerious family. When she resists, he gasses her to sleep
and puts her in her bed. Later in the night, Anna awakens from her deep, dreamless sleep and encounters Velkan, now a werewolf himself. After Velkan flees, Van Helsing and Anna track him to Frankenstein's castle, only to find Dracula attempting to give life to his children using Velkan as a substitute for the Monster. Anna frees Velkan but he becomes a werewolf again. Dracula confronts Van Helsing, who recognizes him from his past.
While escaping, Van Helsing and Anna fall into a cave. There, they find Frankenstein's Monster alive. Though the Monster pleads to be killed so that Dracula cannot use him, Van Helsing decides to take him to Rome
so he can be protected. They flee in a carriage, but while crossing the Carpathian Mountains
, the brides and Velkan, who have been pursuing the group, attack. The carriage plummets down a precipice and Verona tries to save the Monster, but on opening the door reveals that it is a decoy carriage containing only stakes bundled against explosives, which kill her when the carriage hits the bottom. The genuine carriage is attacked and Velkan is killed by Van Helsing, but not before Van Helsing is bitten by him; when the next full moon
occurs, Van Helsing will become a werewolf. Anna is then captured by Aleera and taken to Budapest.
In Budapest
, Van Helsing agrees to a trade and hides the Monster in a cemetery before he and Carl head off to save Anna, who is at a masked ball for vampires. They manage to rescue her, but the Monster is captured and taken away on a boat. Escaping from Dracula's Summer Palace, Van Helsing, Anna, and Carl return to Frankenstein's castle, where they find all the equipment has been removed. At Anna's castle, Carl explains that Dracula was the son of Anna's ancestor. Dracula was murdered, but not before making a Faustian Bargain
, which gave him new life as a vampire. Carl explains that although Anna's ancestor made the vow to kill Dracula, he couldn't kill his own son. Instead, he banished Dracula to an icy fortress from which he should not have been able to return, but the Devil
gave him wings and the power of flight, which allowed him to escape. Van Helsing then finds a portal to Dracula's castle disguised as a wall map, completed using the paper that Van Helsing brought from Rome. They enter the portal, emerging on a cliff near Castle Dracula.
As the trio sees the Monster being lifted to the laboratory, he tells them that Dracula has a werewolf cure. Carl realizes that only a werewolf can kill Dracula and that he uses werewolves to do his bidding, but needs a cure in case they have the willpower to turn against him.
Making his way to the laboratory, Van Helsing frees the Monster -- but not before Dracula's spawn are given life. He then confronts Dracula. Dracula reveals that Van Helsing is really Gabriel, the Left Hand of God
—as well as the one who originally murdered him. He offers to restore Van Helsing's memories, but Van Helsing refuses, deciding that "some things are better left forgotten". Van Helsing tells Dracula that his children will die if he is killed. Dracula challenges him to "go ahead," whereupon Van Helsing becomes a werewolf and enters a final battle with Dracula (who turns into a giant bat
-like creature).
Anna and Carl retrieve the cure but are attacked by Aleera and Igor. Igor falls to his death off a bridge, and Aleera gets impaled by Anna with a silver stake. They make their way to the laboraty just as Van Helsing bites into Dracula's throat, killing him and his offspring. Anna injects Van Helsing with the cure, only to be killed by him at the same time, much to his grief. Van Helsing and Carl hold a quiet ceremony for Anna and cremate her as the Monster departs on a raft into the ocean, having been allowed a chance at life. As Anna's body burns, Van Helsing sees her and her family in Heaven, at peace thanks to Dracula's death.
as "Rotten," with 23% of reviews counted as positive.
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."
was composed by Alan Silvestri
. It was met with critical acclaim by both reviewers and fans.
published a Van Helsing video game
for PlayStation 2
, Xbox
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
and Richard Roxburgh
. Lavastorm Entertainment produced a mobile game
that followed the plot of the movie, However, it received average reviews.
Sommers expanded the story of Van Helsing in two direct spin-offs. The animated prequel titled Van Helsing: The London Assignment
takes place before the main events of the film, focusing on Van Helsing's mission to try to stop Jack the Ripper
, who turns out to actually be Mr. Hyde, from terrorizing London. There was also a one-issue comic book titled Van Helsing: From Beneath the Rue Morgue, that follows Van Helsing on a self-contained adventure that occurs during the events of the film, just after the death of Jekyll/Hyde in Paris but before Van Helsing returned to Rome. In the adventure, Van Helsing deals with Doctor Moreau
and his hybrid mutants.
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
directed by Stephen Sommers
Stephen Sommers
Stephen Sommers is an American screenwriter and film director, best known for The Mummy and its sequel, The Mummy Returns. He also directed Disney's live action version of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book, the action/horror film Van Helsing, and the 2009 film G.I...
. It stars Hugh Jackman
Hugh Jackman
Hugh Michael Jackman is an Australian actor and producer who is involved in film, musical theatre, and television.Jackman has won international recognition for his roles in major films, notably as action/superhero, period and romance characters...
as vigilante
Vigilante
A vigilante is a private individual who legally or illegally punishes an alleged lawbreaker, or participates in a group which metes out extralegal punishment to an alleged lawbreaker....
monster hunter Gabriel Van Helsing, and Kate Beckinsale
Kate Beckinsale
Kathryn Bailey "Kate" Beckinsale is an English actress. After some minor television roles, she made her film debut in Much Ado About Nothing while still a student at Oxford University...
. The film is an homage and tribute to the Universal Horror Monster
Universal Monsters
Universal Monsters or Universal Horror is the name given to a series of distinctive horror, suspense and science fiction films made by Universal Studios from 1923 to 1960...
films from the 1930s and '40s (also produced by Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
), of which director Stephen Sommers
Stephen Sommers
Stephen Sommers is an American screenwriter and film director, best known for The Mummy and its sequel, The Mummy Returns. He also directed Disney's live action version of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book, the action/horror film Van Helsing, and the 2009 film G.I...
is a fan.
The titular character was inspired by Abraham Van Helsing
Abraham Van Helsing
Professor Abraham van Helsing is a protagonist from Bram Stoker's 1897 novel, Dracula.Van Helsing is a Dutch doctor with a wide range of interests and accomplishments, partly attested by the string of letters that follows his name: "M.D., D.Ph., D.Litt., etc." The character is best known as a...
from Irish author Bram Stoker
Bram Stoker
Abraham "Bram" Stoker was an Irish novelist and short story writer, best known today for his 1897 Gothic novel Dracula...
's novel Dracula
Dracula
Dracula is an 1897 novel by Irish author Bram Stoker.Famous for introducing the character of the vampire Count Dracula, the novel tells the story of Dracula's attempt to relocate from Transylvania to England, and the battle between Dracula and a small group of men and women led by Professor...
. Distributed by Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
, the film includes a number of monsters such as Count Dracula
Count Dracula
Count Dracula is a fictional character, the titular antagonist of Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula and archetypal vampire. Some aspects of his character have been inspired by the 15th century Romanian general and Wallachian Prince Vlad III the Impaler...
, the Frankenstein's monster
Frankenstein's monster
Frankenstein's monster is a fictional character that first appeared in Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus. The creature is often erroneously referred to as "Frankenstein", but in the novel the creature has no name...
and werewolves in a way similar to the multi-monster movies that Universal produced in the 1940s, such as Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man
Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man
Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, released in 1943, is an American monster horror film produced by Universal Studios starring Lon Chaney, Jr. as the Wolf Man and Bela Lugosi as Frankenstein's monster. This was the first of a series of "ensemble" monster films combining characters from several film...
and House of Dracula
House of Dracula
House of Dracula was an American horror film released by Universal Pictures Company in 1945. It was a direct sequel to House of Frankenstein and continued the theme of combining Universal's three most popular monsters: Frankenstein's monster, Count Dracula and The Wolf Man...
.
Plot
In 1887, TransylvanianTransylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
Doctor Frankenstein
Victor Frankenstein
Victor Frankenstein was born in Napoli, is a Swiss fictional character and the protagonist of the 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, written by Mary Shelley...
(Samuel West
Samuel West
Samuel Alexander Joseph West is an English actor and theatre director. He is perhaps best known for his role in Howards End and his work on stage. He also starred in the award-winning play ENRON...
) brings to life his Monster
Frankenstein's monster
Frankenstein's monster is a fictional character that first appeared in Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus. The creature is often erroneously referred to as "Frankenstein", but in the novel the creature has no name...
(Shuler Hensley
Shuler Hensley
-Early life:Hensley was born in Atlanta, Georgia. The youngest of three children, Hensley grew up in Marietta, Georgia. His father, Sam P. Hensley, Jr., is a former Georgia Tech football star, retired civil engineer and former state senator. His mother, Iris Antley Hensley, was a ballerina and the...
) with the aid of his assistant Igor
Igor (fictional character)
Igor is the traditional stock character or cliché hunch-backed assistant or butler to many types of villain, such as Count Dracula or a mad scientist, familiar from many horror movies and horror movie parodies, the Frankenstein series and Van Helsing films in particular.-Origins:Dwight Frye's...
(Kevin J. O'Connor), and Count Dracula
Count Dracula
Count Dracula is a fictional character, the titular antagonist of Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula and archetypal vampire. Some aspects of his character have been inspired by the 15th century Romanian general and Wallachian Prince Vlad III the Impaler...
(Richard Roxburgh
Richard Roxburgh
Richard Roxburgh is an Australian actor who has starred in many Australian films and has appeared in supporting roles in a number of Hollywood productions, usually as villains.-Early life:...
). Dracula kills Frankenstein after revealing that he helped him only so he could use the Monster to bring his undead children to life. The Monster then escapes to a windmill, which is burned down by a pursuing mob. The mob flees as Dracula and his three brides
Brides of Dracula
The Brides of Dracula are characters in Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula. They are three seductive female vampire "sisters" who reside with Count Dracula in his castle in Transylvania, where they entrance male humans with their beauty and charm, and then proceed to feed upon them...
, Verona (Silvia Colloca
Silvia Colloca
Silvia Colloca is an Italian actress.Colloca was born in Milan to Loredana and Mario Colloca. Her first major film role was in Van Helsing, in which she played Verona, one of Dracula's brides. In September 2004, she married the Australian actor who played Dracula in that film, Richard Roxburgh...
), Aleera (Elena Anaya
Elena Anaya
Elena Anaya is a Spanish actress whose career dates back to 1995.Anaya is the youngest of 5 children. She first received international attention in 2001 for her role in the sexually explicit drama Lucía y el sexo and also appeared in Pedro Almodóvar's Hable con ella .Her best-known Hollywood film...
) and Marishka (Josie Maran
Josie Maran
Johanna Selhorst "Josie" Maran is an American model and actress.-Early life:Maran was born in Menlo Park, California. She attended Castilleja School, an all-girls' school in Palo Alto, California. She is of Russian-Jewish descent on her paternal side. Her first cover was Glamour in 1998...
), mourn the loss of the Monster and their chance to bring their children to life.
One year later, the Knights of the Holy Order, stationed at the Vatican
Vatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
, dispatch Gabriel Van Helsing
Van Helsing
Van Helsing is a 2004 American action horror film directed by Stephen Sommers. It stars Hugh Jackman as vigilante monster hunter Gabriel Van Helsing, and Kate Beckinsale...
, who has amnesia
Amnesia
Amnesia is a condition in which one's memory is lost. The causes of amnesia have traditionally been divided into categories. Memory appears to be stored in several parts of the limbic system of the brain, and any condition that interferes with the function of this system can cause amnesia...
, to kill Dracula. He is also tasked with preventing the last of the Valerious family from falling into purgatory
Purgatory
Purgatory is the condition or process of purification or temporary punishment in which, it is believed, the souls of those who die in a state of grace are made ready for Heaven...
; the family swore to kill Dracula nine generations ago and is unable to enter Heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
until they succeed. He is given a torn piece of paper with an insignia on it. He is joined by Carl (David Wenham
David Wenham
David Wenham is an Australian actor who has appeared in movies, television series and theatre productions. He is known in Hollywood for his roles as Faramir in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, Carl in Van Helsing and Dilios in 300 and Neil Fletcher in Australia...
), a friar
Friar
A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders.-Friars and monks:...
who provides support and weapons.
Arriving in Transylvania, the two meet Anna Valerious (Kate Beckinsale
Kate Beckinsale
Kathryn Bailey "Kate" Beckinsale is an English actress. After some minor television roles, she made her film debut in Much Ado About Nothing while still a student at Oxford University...
), who tells them her brother Velkan (Will Kemp
Will Kemp (actor)
William "Will" Kemp is an English actor and dancer.-Life and career:Kemp was born in Hertfordshire, England, the son of Rosi, a former model, and Barry Kemp, a graphic designer....
) was recently killed by a werewolf
Werewolf
A werewolf, also known as a lycanthrope , is a mythological or folkloric human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or an anthropomorphic wolf-like creature, either purposely or after being placed under a curse...
. Van Helsing then saves her from Dracula's brides as they attack the village, ending with Van Helsing killing Marishka as the others escape. Anna then takes the pair back to her castle. Anna is determined to kill Dracula herself, but Van Helsing is unwilling for her to take the risk, knowing that she is the last of the Valerious family. When she resists, he gasses her to sleep
Sleep
Sleep is a naturally recurring state characterized by reduced or absent consciousness, relatively suspended sensory activity, and inactivity of nearly all voluntary muscles. It is distinguished from quiet wakefulness by a decreased ability to react to stimuli, and is more easily reversible than...
and puts her in her bed. Later in the night, Anna awakens from her deep, dreamless sleep and encounters Velkan, now a werewolf himself. After Velkan flees, Van Helsing and Anna track him to Frankenstein's castle, only to find Dracula attempting to give life to his children using Velkan as a substitute for the Monster. Anna frees Velkan but he becomes a werewolf again. Dracula confronts Van Helsing, who recognizes him from his past.
While escaping, Van Helsing and Anna fall into a cave. There, they find Frankenstein's Monster alive. Though the Monster pleads to be killed so that Dracula cannot use him, Van Helsing decides to take him to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
so he can be protected. They flee in a carriage, but while crossing the Carpathian Mountains
Carpathian Mountains
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians are a range of mountains forming an arc roughly long across Central and Eastern Europe, making them the second-longest mountain range in Europe...
, the brides and Velkan, who have been pursuing the group, attack. The carriage plummets down a precipice and Verona tries to save the Monster, but on opening the door reveals that it is a decoy carriage containing only stakes bundled against explosives, which kill her when the carriage hits the bottom. The genuine carriage is attacked and Velkan is killed by Van Helsing, but not before Van Helsing is bitten by him; when the next full moon
Full moon
Full moon lunar phase that occurs when the Moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun. More precisely, a full moon occurs when the geocentric apparent longitudes of the Sun and Moon differ by 180 degrees; the Moon is then in opposition with the Sun.Lunar eclipses can only occur at...
occurs, Van Helsing will become a werewolf. Anna is then captured by Aleera and taken to Budapest.
In Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, Van Helsing agrees to a trade and hides the Monster in a cemetery before he and Carl head off to save Anna, who is at a masked ball for vampires. They manage to rescue her, but the Monster is captured and taken away on a boat. Escaping from Dracula's Summer Palace, Van Helsing, Anna, and Carl return to Frankenstein's castle, where they find all the equipment has been removed. At Anna's castle, Carl explains that Dracula was the son of Anna's ancestor. Dracula was murdered, but not before making a Faustian Bargain
Deal with the Devil
Deal With The Devil is the fifth studio album by the American heavy metal band Lizzy Borden released in 2000 .A return to form, featuring a cover by Todd McFarlane.2 covers were recorded...
, which gave him new life as a vampire. Carl explains that although Anna's ancestor made the vow to kill Dracula, he couldn't kill his own son. Instead, he banished Dracula to an icy fortress from which he should not have been able to return, but the Devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
gave him wings and the power of flight, which allowed him to escape. Van Helsing then finds a portal to Dracula's castle disguised as a wall map, completed using the paper that Van Helsing brought from Rome. They enter the portal, emerging on a cliff near Castle Dracula.
As the trio sees the Monster being lifted to the laboratory, he tells them that Dracula has a werewolf cure. Carl realizes that only a werewolf can kill Dracula and that he uses werewolves to do his bidding, but needs a cure in case they have the willpower to turn against him.
Making his way to the laboratory, Van Helsing frees the Monster -- but not before Dracula's spawn are given life. He then confronts Dracula. Dracula reveals that Van Helsing is really Gabriel, the Left Hand of God
Gabriel
In Abrahamic religions, Gabriel is an Archangel who typically serves as a messenger to humans from God.He first appears in the Book of Daniel, delivering explanations of Daniel's visions. In the Gospel of Luke Gabriel foretells the births of both John the Baptist and of Jesus...
—as well as the one who originally murdered him. He offers to restore Van Helsing's memories, but Van Helsing refuses, deciding that "some things are better left forgotten". Van Helsing tells Dracula that his children will die if he is killed. Dracula challenges him to "go ahead," whereupon Van Helsing becomes a werewolf and enters a final battle with Dracula (who turns into a giant bat
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
-like creature).
Anna and Carl retrieve the cure but are attacked by Aleera and Igor. Igor falls to his death off a bridge, and Aleera gets impaled by Anna with a silver stake. They make their way to the laboraty just as Van Helsing bites into Dracula's throat, killing him and his offspring. Anna injects Van Helsing with the cure, only to be killed by him at the same time, much to his grief. Van Helsing and Carl hold a quiet ceremony for Anna and cremate her as the Monster departs on a raft into the ocean, having been allowed a chance at life. As Anna's body burns, Van Helsing sees her and her family in Heaven, at peace thanks to Dracula's death.
Cast
- Hugh JackmanHugh JackmanHugh Michael Jackman is an Australian actor and producer who is involved in film, musical theatre, and television.Jackman has won international recognition for his roles in major films, notably as action/superhero, period and romance characters...
as Gabriel Van Helsing/The Archangel Gabriel/The Left Hand of God - Kate BeckinsaleKate BeckinsaleKathryn Bailey "Kate" Beckinsale is an English actress. After some minor television roles, she made her film debut in Much Ado About Nothing while still a student at Oxford University...
as Anna Valerious - Richard RoxburghRichard RoxburghRichard Roxburgh is an Australian actor who has starred in many Australian films and has appeared in supporting roles in a number of Hollywood productions, usually as villains.-Early life:...
as Count DraculaCount DraculaCount Dracula is a fictional character, the titular antagonist of Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula and archetypal vampire. Some aspects of his character have been inspired by the 15th century Romanian general and Wallachian Prince Vlad III the Impaler...
/Vladislaus Dragulia - David WenhamDavid WenhamDavid Wenham is an Australian actor who has appeared in movies, television series and theatre productions. He is known in Hollywood for his roles as Faramir in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, Carl in Van Helsing and Dilios in 300 and Neil Fletcher in Australia...
as Carl - Shuler HensleyShuler Hensley-Early life:Hensley was born in Atlanta, Georgia. The youngest of three children, Hensley grew up in Marietta, Georgia. His father, Sam P. Hensley, Jr., is a former Georgia Tech football star, retired civil engineer and former state senator. His mother, Iris Antley Hensley, was a ballerina and the...
as Frankenstein's monsterFrankenstein's monsterFrankenstein's monster is a fictional character that first appeared in Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus. The creature is often erroneously referred to as "Frankenstein", but in the novel the creature has no name... - Elena AnayaElena AnayaElena Anaya is a Spanish actress whose career dates back to 1995.Anaya is the youngest of 5 children. She first received international attention in 2001 for her role in the sexually explicit drama Lucía y el sexo and also appeared in Pedro Almodóvar's Hable con ella .Her best-known Hollywood film...
as Aleera - Will KempWill Kemp (actor)William "Will" Kemp is an English actor and dancer.-Life and career:Kemp was born in Hertfordshire, England, the son of Rosi, a former model, and Barry Kemp, a graphic designer....
as Velkan Valerious - Kevin J. O'Connor as IgorIgor (fictional character)Igor is the traditional stock character or cliché hunch-backed assistant or butler to many types of villain, such as Count Dracula or a mad scientist, familiar from many horror movies and horror movie parodies, the Frankenstein series and Van Helsing films in particular.-Origins:Dwight Frye's...
- Alun ArmstrongAlun Armstrong (actor)Alun Armstrong is a prolific British character actor. Armstrong grew up in County Durham in North East England. He first became interested in acting through Shakespeare productions at his grammar school. Since his career began in the early 1970s, he has played, in his words, "the full spectrum of...
as Cardinal Jinette - Silvia CollocaSilvia CollocaSilvia Colloca is an Italian actress.Colloca was born in Milan to Loredana and Mario Colloca. Her first major film role was in Van Helsing, in which she played Verona, one of Dracula's brides. In September 2004, she married the Australian actor who played Dracula in that film, Richard Roxburgh...
as Verona - Josie MaranJosie MaranJohanna Selhorst "Josie" Maran is an American model and actress.-Early life:Maran was born in Menlo Park, California. She attended Castilleja School, an all-girls' school in Palo Alto, California. She is of Russian-Jewish descent on her paternal side. Her first cover was Glamour in 1998...
as Marishka - Tom Fisher as Top Hat
- Samuel WestSamuel WestSamuel Alexander Joseph West is an English actor and theatre director. He is perhaps best known for his role in Howards End and his work on stage. He also starred in the award-winning play ENRON...
as Dr. Victor FrankensteinVictor FrankensteinVictor Frankenstein was born in Napoli, is a Swiss fictional character and the protagonist of the 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, written by Mary Shelley... - Stephen Fisher as Dr. Jekyll
- Robbie ColtraneRobbie ColtraneRobbie Coltrane, OBE is a Scottish actor, comedian and author. He is known both for his role as Dr...
as the voice of Mr. Hyde
Reception
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 USA. Despite this, critical reception was mostly negative, and the film was classed by the website Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
as "Rotten," with 23% of reviews counted as positive.
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
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."
Soundtrack
The movie's original scoreVan Helsing (soundtrack)
Van Helsing: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was composed by Alan Silvestri and released on May 4, 2004, by Decca Records.-Track listing:-Critical reception:...
was composed by Alan Silvestri
Alan Silvestri
Alan Anthony Silvestri is an American film composer and conductor.-Career:Silvestri is best known for his collaborations with director Robert Zemeckis, having scored Romancing the Stone , the Back to the Future trilogy , Who Framed Roger Rabbit , Death Becomes Her , Forrest Gump , Contact ,...
. It was met with critical acclaim by both reviewers and fans.
Other media
Vivendi Universal GamesVivendi Games
Vivendi Games, formerly known as Vivendi Universal Games, was the holdings company for Sierra Entertainment and Blizzard Entertainment. Vivendi Games was founded as Vivendi Universal Games after Vivendi bought Universal Studios in the early 2000s...
published a Van Helsing video game
Van Helsing (video game)
Van Helsing is a third-person shooter for the Play Station 2 and Xbox which is based on the 2004 action/horror film of the same name by Stephen Sommers. Starting off with the killing of Mr. Hyde in Paris, one must use the character of Van Helsing to hunt down Dracula in Transylvania...
for PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
, Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
and Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
. The game follows a similar plot to the movie, has gameplay similar to Devil May Cry
Devil May Cry
is an action game developed and published by Capcom, released in 2001 for the PlayStation 2. Although it is the first game in the series of the same name, the events in Devil May Cry are second in the series storyline's chronological order, taking place after Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening and...
and the PS2 and Xbox versions feature the voice talent of many of the actors including Hugh Jackman
Hugh Jackman
Hugh Michael Jackman is an Australian actor and producer who is involved in film, musical theatre, and television.Jackman has won international recognition for his roles in major films, notably as action/superhero, period and romance characters...
and Richard Roxburgh
Richard Roxburgh
Richard Roxburgh is an Australian actor who has starred in many Australian films and has appeared in supporting roles in a number of Hollywood productions, usually as villains.-Early life:...
. Lavastorm Entertainment produced a mobile game
Mobile game
A mobile game is a video game played on a mobile phone, smartphone, PDA, tablet computer or portable media player. This does not include games played on handheld video game systems such as Nintendo DS or PlayStation Portable....
that followed the plot of the movie, However, it received average reviews.
Sommers expanded the story of Van Helsing in two direct spin-offs. The animated prequel titled Van Helsing: The London Assignment
Van Helsing: The London Assignment
Van Helsing: The London Assignment is a 2004 animated film by Universal Studios Home Entertainment. It features the voices of Hugh Jackman, Robbie Coltrane and David Wenham.-Plot:...
takes place before the main events of the film, focusing on Van Helsing's mission to try to stop Jack the Ripper
Jack the Ripper
"Jack the Ripper" is the best-known name given to an unidentified serial killer who was active in the largely impoverished areas in and around the Whitechapel district of London in 1888. The name originated in a letter, written by someone claiming to be the murderer, that was disseminated in the...
, who turns out to actually be Mr. Hyde, from terrorizing London. There was also a one-issue comic book titled Van Helsing: From Beneath the Rue Morgue, that follows Van Helsing on a self-contained adventure that occurs during the events of the film, just after the death of Jekyll/Hyde in Paris but before Van Helsing returned to Rome. In the adventure, Van Helsing deals with Doctor Moreau
The Island of Doctor Moreau
The Island of Doctor Moreau is an 1896 science fiction novel written by H. G. Wells. It is told from the point of view of a man named Edward Prendick who is shipwrecked, rescued by a passing boat, and then left at the ship's destination by the crew along with the ship's cargo of exotic animals...
and his hybrid mutants.