Review - Van Helsing

Stephen Sommers' Van Helsing is one of the smartest spoofs since Airplane, whether it intends to be or not, and will unfortunately always be overlooked because of its embrace of blockbuster conventions and its failure to provide genuine scares. Those going into this film anticipating a horror movie will be sorely disappointed. However, those who expect only a loving, tongue-in-cheek homage to classic monster movies will be delighted with the adrenaline rush that Van Helsing provides.
The opening scene of the film, stylishly shot in black and white, trots out every monster movie cliche there is. We have an angry mob complete with pitchforks and torches, a mad scientist and even the immortal catchphrase "It's alive, It's alive." Not only is the scene excellently rendered and beautifully shot but its subtle allusions to less obvious monster movie conventions are excellently included. The shot of Igor, dwarfed by the shadow of the monstrous Dracula devouring Dr. Frankenstein is of particular note, utilizing the overused shadows of horror films in a new way.
Also worth praising is the sheer number of films that just this first scene manages to reference. The most obvious allusion is to Frankenstein and Dracula but there are also shades of more modern classics, specifically Young Frankenstein and Abbot and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Even the set pieces are recycled from old monster movies. Sommers more than proves his passion for the genre and his intention to make something that truly draws upon the influence of the monster movie canon.
Once the film jumps forward a year, we are treated to another supremely entertaining, if a little science-fictiony for my tastes, scene where Van Helsing (Hugh Jackman) hunts down Mr. Hyde, who has been terrorizing the city of London for months. I'm a sucker for reinterpretations of literary figures. I loved what they did with the characters in The League of Extraordinary Gentleman so this scene is like a fanboy dream for me and other fans of this combination of genres. This is also where we start to get the first clues to the film's rather inventive premise. An update of the Van Helsing from Bram Stoker's original novel Dracula, this incarnation of the monster slayer is a young, guilt-ridden monster hunter who works for a shadow agency within the Vatican called the Knights of the Holy Order. He embodies the misunderstood hero archetype because he is also being hunted by authorities as a murderer because most of the monsters that he kills turn back into humans upon death and are then found by unknowing townspeople. This slick reimagining of the character is actually a surprisingly strong premise that could easily have led to a successful franchise.
Joining Jackman is Kate Beckinsale as the last member of a family that is intricately linked with Dracula and will not find true peace until he has been killed. Beckinsale herself is passable as the beautiful Anna Valerious. However, the character design is one of the few design flaws in the film. The tightly-corseted, spike heel wearing heroine is just completely unbelievable. A simple wardrobe change would have made her character much more realistic. I could also have done without the silly accent but I don't know how faithful it was to the region of Transylania so I won't pass judgment.
The real surprise of the movie is Richard Roxburgh as Count Dracula who somehow manages not to fall off of the tightrope he has stretched between cheesiness and genuine conflicted monster.
However, the real credit has to go to the design teams. The mise-en-scene of this film is amazing. The gothic castles and alchemic lair of Dr. Frankenstein are truly some of the most interesting sets in recent memory. This coupled with the character designs and transformations make for, at the very least, an interesting and memorable visual spectacle.
That's really what this film is about--the spectacle. It is at its best when it fully embraces its camp and revels in nostalgia for the early monster movies.
Despite some obvious plot contrivances, specifically the sunlight creating orb that they just haven't found a purpose for yet, the plot is an intriguing mesh of multiple storylines culled from years of classic films that, much like the Frankenstein monster, comes alive, imbued with a Sommers' excited energy. This film gets the mixture right because it doesn't take itself too seriously, a mistake made by other cross-franchise films like Freddy vs. Jason. It's simply a movie that does exactly what Hollywood intends it to: it entertains. That's really all that can be asked for. The winks to monster movie buffs and film buffs in general are just icing on the cake.