Funny, scary

Rating: 8/10 (13 June 2004)

Van Helsing was a man who couldn't recall his past. Working for the Vatican, he has to hunt down supernatural creatures and it is to Hugh Jackmans' credit that Van Helsings' reticence at killing these once human beings came across.
The rest of the cast are good, particularly David Wenham as Karl, Gabriel Van Helsings' Friar sidekick. The banter between the two characters provides the many funny parts of the film. Karl is also the provider of the gadgetry and weaponry used by his friend Van Helsing.
Richard Roxburgh surprised me. Before seeing the film I thought he was badly cast as Dracula, but his performance was a mixture of mad, aristocratic menace and camp egomaniac. The role actually seemed to suit him.
Kate Beckinsale was the feisty heroine. As Anna Valerious her ancestry indicated a long-standing vendetta with Dracula. She thinks she can handle things on her own, but after seeing Van Helsing in action, she reluctantly agrees the Van Helsing can remain in her town and eventually, together, they set about "vanquishing evil".
Will Kemp as the Wolf Man didn't really have much to do with the role, except writhe acrobatically about, which was a shame. I would've liked to have seen more screen time given to both the Wolf Man and Shuler Hensley as Frankensteins' Monster. Although Frankensteins' creation was supposed to be a "monster", he was in fact quite the opposite, an emotional and sympathetic character.
The sets were very atmospheric, dark, gloomy and Gothic, perhaps a tribute by the Director Stephen Sommers to the old Hammer Horror films?
The only thing I would've changed about the film? Well, at times, it felt like the film was trying to cram too much in. It would've been nice to have a plot that was less crowded and maybe that would've allowed for some interesting development of the characters.
Yes, there are a lot of things that could've been done differently, but I enjoyed Van Helsing. It's a film that is funny, scary, action-packed thrilling and entertaining all rolled into one.