You know that chilling fear that creeps up and crawls on your skin…waiting for something eerie and weird to appear on your television screen (lucky you if your screen is larger, haha)...then the spooky music and drum beats that follow… This combination makes horror movies very interesting!
I don't watch those 100% horror movies of haunted houses or cabins in the woods, friends miss their way and lodge in them at night and then the gore drama begins! A classic case of The Evil Dead series. I watched this series when I was a child and my fear of the dark became sealed! Haha.
The horror genre holds my interest when it's mixed up with other genres such as horror/fantasy or horror/action/thriller. Something like that. Even better is if there are vampires and werewolves in it!
Van Helsing is a horror/action classic monster film released in 2004 and I love it. In some of my movie reviews, I write about how I watch movies based on the actors and actresses.
Hugh Jackman and Kate Beckinsale are the main characters which makes this movie all the more attractive for me. Right from the start of the X-men series, Hugh Jackman has been a favourite and having watched The Underworld series (another horror/gothic/action I will be reviewing much later) where Kate Beckinsale starred as a badass Lycan hunter, she became another of my favourites too.
Another interesting element of this movie is its focus on monster characters such as Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, Mr. Hyde, Van Helsing as a monster hunter, werewolves and vampires.
Plot
The movie starts remarkably in black and white displaying how Victor Frankenstein 'made' his monster while a mob of protesters threatened to storm the castle. Dracula moves in and kills Victor, an act which hurts the monster. In the midst of the commotion and with the castle on fire, the monster runs away with his dead master in his hands.
Van Helsing, played by Hugh Jackman, is commissioned years later by the Holy Order to travel down to Transylvania, join hands with the Valerious family and destroy Dracula. Van Helsing stops by the laboratory to collect weapons and gadgets that he would need for the mission.
Arriving at the village in Transylvania, Van Helsing meets Anna Valerious in the midst of a fight against the brides of Dracula and the journey to fulfill the mission was like a trip down the proverbial rabbit hole.
Review
Without giving away the movie, I'll say it's a captivating action-adventure horror with plenty of creatures and monsters from classic horror movies past and I enjoyed how some parts are laced with humor.
Almost 90% of all the scenes were in dark places. The dark fantasy atmosphere of the movie lends credence to it as a gothic.
I liked the masquerade ball scene, fancy dressing, dancing and the non-stop action throughout the movie. There was not a single dull moment.
Though this movie is highly underappreciated and given low ratings by critics due to the CGI effects, I feel it's not bad for such a movie made in 2004. Also, the choice of actors made the movie popular and easily likable.
Call me weird but happy endings are sometimes overrated so I liked how the movie ended on a sad note when Van Helsing accidentally killed Anna Valerious in the werewolf form and mourned her when the cure kicked in and he turned human again.
Van Helsing is one of the best action horrors that I have watched and would definitely recommend it to viewers who want to be in the Halloween mood regardless of the critics' ratings.
This is my entry to the CineTV Contest: The Best Of Horror | CHALLENGE #01. I invite @notacinephile, @wolfofnostreet, and @esther-emmanuel to participate.
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