Van Helsing (2004)
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A monster hunter must team up with a woman from a cursed lineage to stop an ancient vampire's plan to unleash a horde of undead children.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1887, Victor Frankenstein creates a monster, but Dracula kills him and the monster is presumed dead by a mob. In 1888, Gabriel Van Helsing, a memory-less hunter for the Knights of the Holy Order, is sent to Transylvania to destroy Dracula and protect Anna and Velkan Valerious. During their journey, they encounter Dracula's brides and a werewolf. They discover Dracula's plan to use Frankenstein's machine to give life to thousands of undead children. After a series of battles and betrayals, Van Helsing is bitten by a werewolf and must fight the curse while trying to stop Dracula. In a final confrontation, Van Helsing kills Dracula but is tragically injured, and Anna is killed in the process. The film ends with Van Helsing and his companion, Carl, cremating Anna's body while she is seen reuniting with her family in heaven.
- First release year
- 2004
- Runtime (minutes)
- 131
- Production countries
- United States; Czech Republic
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Stephen Sommers
- Writers
- Stephen Sommers · writer
- Cast and characters
- Hugh Jackman · Van Helsing; Kate Beckinsale · Anna Valerious; Richard Roxburgh · Dracula; David Wenham · Velkan; Will Kemp · Marishka; Kevin J. O'Connor · Carl; Shuler Hensley · Aleera
- Genres
- action; horror
- Tone and mood
- Action-packed; Dark; Spectacular
- Setting
- Transylvania, Paris, and Rome in the late 19th century (1887-1888).
- Premise and plot tags
- Monster Hunting; Vampire; Werewolf; Time Period: 1880s
- Source material / true-story basis
- Inspired by the character Abraham Van Helsing from Bram Stoker's novel Dracula.
- Franchise connections
- Van Helsing (Universal Pictures franchise)
- Reception
- The film was not well received by critics, being described as a 'hollow creature feature' with 'CGI overload', though some critics found it 'spectacular and fun'.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 4.3 · scale: 10 · review count: 225
- Production trivia
- The film was released on May 7, 2004, exactly five years to the day after The Mummy premiered.; The film features a variety of monsters including Frankenstein's monster, Mr. Hyde, and werewolves.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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