Running time: 145 minutes
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Kate Beckinsale, Richard Roxburgh, David Wenham, Shuler Hensley, Will Kemp, Robbie Coltrane, Samuel West
Rating 7 out of 10
Borrowing heavily from James Whale's Frankenstein as well as the legends of Dracula, Dr Jekyll and Wolfman, Van Helsing has a familiar feel to it. As is the case with most films in the horror genre, the story is simple. It's just good versus evil. The most surprising thing with Van Helsing is how much fun we have getting to the inevitable conclusion. Gabriel Van Helsing (Jackman) is a man with a calling: to seek out evil and destroy it. His prowess as a vampire hunter is unparalleled but still one legendary creature eludes him - the evil Count Dracula (Roxburgh). The Prince of Darkness rules over the shadowy world of Transylvania hell-bent on destroying Anna Valerious (Beckinsale), the last in the line of a powerful royal family.
When Van Helsing arrives in Romania and teams up with Anna to defeat their common foe, they learn to their horror that Dracula has bigger plans - to harness the life force of Frankenstein's Monster and give life to his vampire brood. Throw in a werewolf or two, a huge spooky castle, and the worst storm this century and the scene is set for a battle royal.
The much-vaunted CGI is, on the whole, pretty spectacular. The transformation of man into werewolf has never been more realistic or the flight of the bat-like vampires (so long a standing joke with horror fans) more convincing. The problem with all this is just that there is so much of it. In blurring the lines between live and computer imagery it is invariably the CGI that comes out on top. The actors play second fiddle throughout and are left filling the gaps between each monster showdown.
The dialogue, such as it is, serves just to lighten the mood after one CGI-fuelled attack before moving the story along to the next battle. Director Stephen Sommers sacrifices in-depth character studies to keep up the break-neck pace of the film, which in an adventure/horror is no bad thing.
Ultimately punters will leave the film with the feeling that their senses have been assaulted rather than their pockets. If tongue in cheek escapist horror is your bag, then Van Helsing will leave you screaming for more - if not you could be in for a couple of hours of torture.
