I recently reviewed director/writer Steve Lawson (Higher Fliers Films/Creative Films)' exhilarating, 2023 Wrath of Dracula (see January 2, 2024 post), which gave me incentive to review his earlier, vampiric escapade, Bram Stoker's Van Helsing.
In Van Helsing, which Lawson cowrote with Simon Patrick Avedon, Dracula's presence is but a misty insinuation. In other words, we never see the full brunt of him. The focus instead falls on Lucy Westenra, played by the Charlie (The Huntress of Auschwitz/Strippers vs Werewolves) Bond. It's then a matter of Joe (Escape from Cannibal Island) Street's Dr. John Seward and Tom (Jekyll and Hyde 2021) Hendryck's Arthur Holmwood enlisting the former's old friend, Mark Topping's Professor Van Helsing, to see what's pushing the maiden's poor health.
This prompts the already-in-tune Van Helsing to plunge in, with the adroit Topping channeling Peter Cushing for most of his scenes, projecting vigor and sophistication as he conducts his esoteric methodologies. (Topping grants the same spot-on aura in Wrath of Dracula, where the circumstances accentuate his Cushing quality even further.)
All the same, Lucy remains the retelling's uppermost component, with Bond submerging into comely weariness and later full-blown, parasitic sexiness, as Dracula's offscreen nibbling reshapes her. Her death and resurrection are detailed, and as such, more than hold their own with the worthiest, Dracula adaptations. Additionally, there's a distinct, virile punch surrounding her frightful progression, which makes even the verbal exchanges feel urgent in light of Lucy's illness, and let's face it, this is a distinguishing, redoubtable aspect that discerns Stoker's text; why ignore it?
It was fun to (re)analyze Van Helsing after engaging the catchy frivolity of Lawson's second installment: a reboot, in truth. In a way, Wrath picks up on Van Helsing much in the way that Sam Raimi's Evil Dead movies restage their endings for unforeseen directions. The technique may not please everyone, but for this particular, Stoker cause, the culmination should click for anyone who enjoys a hearty twist.
Nevertheless, those desiring an omnipresent, screen Dracula will be disappointed, but again, Lucy, especially in her saucy stages, is worth the price of admission, even if she never enters the novel's "bloofer lady," child-feasting quadrant. However, that Van Helsing is on top of his game more than compensates for it, and therefore, the title delivers on its pledge, even if the promotional artwork is more in line with Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter than a Cushing-influenced revival.
Check out Bram Stoker's Van Helsing for a new view of the classic. Perhaps even position it for a back-to-back showing with Wrath. If you've a penchant for any and all interpretations of Stoker's dark brainchild, this set will be worth the Gothic ride.
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