Van Helsing
Plot Summary: Deep in the mountains of Carpathia lies the mysterious and mythic
land of Transylvania--a world where evil is ever-present, where danger rises as the
sun sets, and where the monsters that inhabit man's deepest nightmares take form.
Innovative filmmaker Stephen Sommers--who so imaginatively re-envisioned
Universal's classic Mummy character in the worldwide blockbusters "The Mummy"
and "The Mummy Returns"--now widens his cinematic scope and multiplies his
creative inspiration by breathing new life into the most time-honored pantheon of
classic Universal monsters and setting them in a stunning new world of fantastical
reality. Sommer's all-encompassing vision for a world as tangible, real and visceral as
any caught in the stranglehold of inescapable evil blends the recognizable and the
unimaginable into a vivid, epic backdrop for his tale of ultimate evil against a lone
force of good: Van Helsing.
Audiences will be drawn into a visionary, supernatural but seemingly all-too-real
world of Sommers' singular creation--set in 19th Century London, Rome, Paris and
Transylvania--where mankind is in constant danger from incarnate evil in a multitude
of forms: monsters that outlive generations, defying repeated attacks from the
doomed brave souls that challenge them in their never-ending war upon the human
race. In Sommers' hands, Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, the Wolf Man and others
are effectively reborn as dynamic heirs to the traditions handed down by the
filmmakers of the classic Universal monster pictures. Honoring their legacy while
propelling them into the next generation of cinema, Sommers turns what was once
classic into cutting edge.
Into this world, brought to life and played out on massive sets and sweeping
locations, Sommers brings Van Helsing (Jackman), the legendary monster hunter
born in the pages of Bram Stoker's Dracula. In his ongoing battle to rid the world of
its fiendish creatures, Van Helsing, on order of a secret society, travels to
Transylvania to bring down the lethally seductive, enigmatically powerful Count
Dracula (Roxburgh) and joins forces with the fearless Anna Valerious (Beckinsale),
out to rid her family of a generations-old curse by defeating the vampire. Also
populating Sommers dense canvas are: Tony Award winner Shuler Hensley as Dr.
Frankenstein's misunderstood monster; former Matthew Bourne company leading
dancer Will Kemp as Velkan, Anna's stalwart brother who transforms under the full
moon into the Wolf Man; Kevin J. O'Connor as Dr. Frankenstein's loyal yet
treacherous assistant, Igor; David Wenham as Carl, a friar entrusted with ensuring
Van Helsing's safe return; and Elena Anaya, Silvia Colloca and Josie Maran as
Dracula's three bloodthirsty brides who will stop at nothing to help their master in his
plan to subvert human civilization and rule over a world of havoc, fear and darkness.
Van Helsing © 2003 Universal Studios.
