BRAM STOKER'S VAN HELSING: A LOOK BACK

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. 

I SAW WRATH OF DRACULA

Director/writer Steve (Jekyll and Hyde 2021) Lawson's Wrath of Dracula, a 2023, Higher Fliers Films/Creative Films release that's (re)surfaced in the wake of Nosferatu-mania, is, in fact, a reboot of Lawson's Bram Stoker's Van Helsing (a Lucy Westenra-leaning effort). Like Van Helsing, Wrath of Dracula experiments with various components of Stoker's novel, while keeping the mythological tropes intact (similar to Maximillian Elfelt/Michael Varrati's modernized Dracula: the Original, Living Vampire, though in Wrath's case, the doting brio comes with a rollicking aesthetic). 

Mark (Jekyll and Hyde 2021) Topping plays Van Helsing, as he did in Lawson's 2021, vampire-hunter epic, though in the later instance, he's teamed with Hannaj Bang Bendz's diary-driven Mina Harker. The two enter the Carpathian Mountains to rescue hubby, Jonathan, played with convincing anguish by Dean Marshall, as Sean Cronin assumes the role of the commanding Count Dracula and Ayvianna Snow, Marta Svetek and Jasmine Sumner perform as his siren-like Brides. 

Lawson's execution is Hammer-esque, with Van Helsing encouraging Mina to get into fighting shape, which references Hammer's Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter and its Run Shaw Shaw collaboration, The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires. Also, Topping's Van Helsing is cut straight from the Peter Cushing cloth, and he does a phenomenal job capturing the Hammer's star's erudite essence and determined glint. (It should go without saying that Topping achieves the same impressive level in Lawson's earlier, Dracula venture, even if it's displayed through a more conventional lens.)

To offset Van Helsing and the Buffy-ish Mina, Cronin makes an excellent Count, incensed, regal and slippery (rather like a fanged Ming the Merciless), though he's often relegated to the shadows and doesn't take centerstage until the tale's final phase. (For the record, Dracula was kept in the margins throughout Lawson's Van Helsing, being but a faceless insinuation and never a full-blown persona.) The Brides, however, are conspicuous and at that, beautiful to behold, adding believability to their lure and the parasitic danger they press upon Jonathan, Mina and the professor. 

Throughout it all, Wrath of Dracula never gets bogged down with selling a message, seeming content with serving no more than lurid escapism. On occasion, it even feels a bit like Marvel Comics' The Tomb of Dracula, albeit placed in a grounded, period setting. Lawson rolls it at a no-nonsense pace, but his writing also gives his fine cast the means to make the best of their characters, in particular Van Helsing and Nina, who by the mission's end form a steadfast, John Steed/Emma Peel bond. The culmination is, therefore, most satisfying, with a hint of a sequel (one featuring werewolves, no less), which I do trust comes about.