Van Helsing (2004)
Van Helsing is a supernatural action film directed by Stephen Sommers and stars Hugh Jackman as Gabriel Van Helsing, a legendary monster hunter working for a secretive Vatican organization. The film reimagines the iconic character from Bram Stoker’s Dracula, placing Van Helsing in a larger, interconnected universe of famous horror monsters.
The story begins with Van Helsing pursuing a werewolf in Paris, where he confronts and kills the beast. Afterward, he is dispatched by the Vatican to Transylvania to confront a new, more sinister threat—Count Dracula (Richard Roxburgh), who has been resurrected and seeks to conquer the world with the help of his dark powers. Van Helsing’s mission is to stop Dracula, who has made a pact with the devil to gain immortality and is attempting to bring his vampire offspring into the world using the powers of a mysterious woman named Anna Valerious (Kate Beckinsale).
Anna, the last surviving member of a noble family sworn to destroy Dracula, joins forces with Van Helsing to defeat him. She reveals that her family has been hunting Dracula for centuries, and her brother, Velkan (Will Kemp), was turned into a werewolf by the vampire lord. As the duo travels to Dracula’s lair, they discover that Dracula has been using a combination of science and sorcery to create an army of monsters, including Frankenstein’s monster (Shuler Hensley), the werewolf army, and a horde of vampires.
As Dracula’s dark plan unfolds, Van Helsing learns more about his own past. He is revealed to be the reincarnation of the archangel Gabriel, sent to fight evil forces on Earth. In a climactic battle at Dracula’s castle, Van Helsing and Anna face off against the monsters, with Van Helsing ultimately confronting Dracula in a final showdown. With the help of Frankenstein’s monster and the destruction of Dracula’s fortress, Van Helsing defeats the vampire lord, but not before Anna is mortally wounded. The film ends with Van Helsing returning to the Vatican, having fulfilled his mission but lost the love of Anna.
Van Helsing is an action-packed, visually stunning film that blends gothic horror with high-octane action, offering a reimagining of classic monster movie characters.
