Van Helsing (2004)

Acting:		Partying:		Girls:
Blood:		Language:		Gore:
Violence:		Humor:		Sexuality:
Torture:		Predictability:		Overall:

I have a love/hate relationship with this action/horror mash-up. It starts off promisingly enough (in glorious B&W) following a group of angry Transylvanian villagers as they storm Dr. Frankenstein's castle. The scene is wonderfully enhanced by Alan Silvestri's thundering gothic score.

Why are the aforementioned villagers so pissed? Well it seems that the Doc has been robbing graves in an attempt to create life. This scheme has been funded by a certain Count Dracula. As you can see, we're firmly in the realm of classic horror here. There's even a weasely hunchback named Ygor (well played by Kevin J. O'Connor.).

But the moment color enters the film, it starts to go downhill. We're introduced to the titular vampire hunter played by Hugh Jackman. Ya' see, Bram Stoker's Professor has been reinvented here as a "Wolverineish" anti-hero, complete with memory loss and long lifespan. He works for the Catholic Church, smiting evil and killing monsters. As he's just finished off the repulsive Mr. Hyde (one of the movie's better scenes) his next assignment is to kill Dracula.

Going into plot details beyond that is a waste of time. It's nonsense involving werewolves, ...

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