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 (Hugh 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 (Richard Roxburgh) and joins forces with the fearless Anna Valerious (Kate 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.
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October 19, 2004: Backstage at ILM:
If you think Dr. Frankenstein had his hands full creating his famous monster, you should see what director Stephen Sommers had to go through to create his film VAN HELSING; a monster in its own right. The film, rumored to have cost north of $170 million,...
May 14, 2004: Visit Dracula's Fortress:
I want to go to Universal Studios Hollywood so bad I can taste it. The
closest thing we have around here is a really big Blockbuster Video down the
street and whenever I try to ride the life-size Shrek cut-out I end up getting
mysterious late fees on...
May 10, 2004: Arrow: Van Helsing:
" I would compare this piece of
celluloid to an eager, yet dumb prostitute. You pay her money, she plays
your flute like a pro, you smile, you go home and forget all about her in
the...
May 6, 2004: Helsing premiere pics:
VAN HELSING
finally opens tomorrow smack dab in the middle of mixed reviews. The early
reports were poopy but our own JoBlo has come around and given the film a
greenlight for it's fast action, over-the-top fun, and relentlessly hot women ( read
the...
May 6, 2004: Review: Van Helsing:
** Don't forget
to check out today's DAILY MOVIE QUOTE
under the site's logo **
archives >
"Van
Helsing gets 3 F’s for Fun F*ckin’ Film! This movie is not...
April 26, 2004: Van Helsing babes!:
VAN HELSING had a lot going for it. Hugh Jackman. Kate Beckinsale. Dracula. Wolfman. Frankenstein. But now that we're getting closer to the film's release, word is beginning to slip out that the film itself ain't all that. In fact at a recent screening in...
April 25, 2004: More Helsing pics:
I wanted VAN
HELSING to be a great, fun summer movie as much as
the next guy (if not more!), but if any of the early reviews I've
been receiving and reading about, are any indication, the...
April 19, 2004: Helsing promo pics!:
Alexander let us in on 6 new images from the upcoming monster bash,
VAN HELSING .
There's some pretty good looks at all the players including the sweet shot of
the brides and Dracula's coppers below. There's also an interesting look at the
transformation...
April 19, 2004: Universal 2004 posters:
UNIVERSAL PICTURES
recently rolled out their 2004 summer preview, featuring posters,
pictures and all that jazz. Click on the one-sheets below to get more info on
each film including VAN...
April 13, 2004: Tons of new Helsing pics!:
This summer kicks off with a bang on May 7th with the release of VAN HELSING, or as the French call it, LE HELSING DU VAN. OK they don't call it that but they still dig their monster killer over yonder. French site Cinemovies posted a huge new gallery of VAN...
April 7, 2004: Van Helsing clips!:
Hot on the heels of the
ALIEN VS. PREDATOR
featurette we told you about
here , VAN HELSING
wants to throw itself in the mix as well. Yahoo Movies has added a little behind
the scenes clip called 'Paying Tribute to the Past' that includes interviews...
March 20, 2004: New Movie Trailers:
Am I the only one who's getting more and more turned
off by VAN
HELSING , the more that I see from it? I dig Stephen Sommers and
I know that he can bang out "fun" movies, but all the CGI...
March 18, 2004: Final Helsing poster!:
The guys over at Latino Review posted the final poster for VAN HELSING, which kicks off the summer season this May. First off, I'm surprised Hugh Jackman's name isn't a little bigger. Like "Hugh Jackman is VAN HELSING" or something like that. Kate Beckinsale...
February 4, 2004: New Van Helsing video!:
Universal just sent us a link to a neat new video that takes a look behind-the-scenes of the upcoming VAN HELSING and damn if there isn't some cool stuff in there. It's titled "A Look Inside" and features a lot of footage from the set, clips from the movie as...
February 3, 2004: Van Helsing banners:
You might've already seen these individual poster banners from VAN
HELSING a while back, but if you didn't, we just received them in
high resolution, so check 'em out in all their glory. Moviegoods.com
has also put these items into their...
February 2, 2004: Helsing site goes live:
To coincide with the debut of a new commercial that ran during last night's Super Bowl, Universal relaunched the official site for VAN HELSING and added a whole bunch of new content. The new site, which does include the Super Bowl spot available for download,...
January 19, 2004: Van Helsing prequel:
When we first told you about this right
here , I was a little
skeptical about what kind of direction the makers of
VAN HELSING were
going with their audience selection. Let's face it, this flick has Saturday
morning cartoon written all over it. Now that...
January 16, 2004: Helsing trailer online:
Must... see...
VAN HELSING... trailer... now in glorious Quicktime. Hugh Jackman... Kate
Beckinsale looking hot... cool gadgets... the Wolfman... Frankenstein...
Dracula... sign... me... up. CLICK BELOW TO SEE!
January 14, 2004: Trailer attack!:
First things first, get your ass over to Yahoo Movies and watch the new
trailer to THE GIRL
NEXT DOOR . A couple things to keep in mind here; Elisha Cuthbert plays a
porn star and it's rated R. So I'm assuming the hints of her full blown nudity
in the...
January 14, 2004: 2004 Universal 2/2:
Only a couple of 2004 upcoming studio movie previews remain, and
today was UNIVERSAL 's turn to give us the skinny on their slate, a slate
which, in my opinion, only looks about "so-so" up to this point. In
fact, if it wasn't for THE CHRONICLES...
December 26, 2003: Van Helsing pics!:
You ever notice how hot vampire chicks are in the movies? It makes you wonder
if these ladies of the night come in all shapes and sizes. What if Dracula was
drunk one night and bit the neck of a 400 pound grandmother coming out of the
Midnight Madness...
December 22, 2003: Two new groovy posters:
A couple of items that have recently been in the news include
the VAN HELSING theatrical banner which you can see here
and the SKY
CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW trailer, which you can check out here .
Both bits were updated somewhat today with the...
December 17, 2003: Van Helsing banner!:
I'm honestly really surprised that Universal didn't hussle to get a teaser trailer for VAN HELSING attached to RETURN OF THE KING. Maybe they didn't want it to have to compete with another one of their big summer films, THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK? But now the VAN...
December 15, 2003: Faramir aids Helsing:
David
Wenham will be busy this week on the screen helping the fellowship defeat evil
in RETURN OF THE KING but after that, he has some vampires to deal with. Wenham
was thrust into the spotlight in THE TWO TOWERS as Faramir, brother of Boromir,
and...
December 11, 2003: Van Helsing info:
News
about Universal's VAN HELSING has been pretty scarce as far as pictures and
specific plot details go but the people over at JackmansLanding have scored some
interesting little tidbits. The studio plans for "multiple themed attractions
and events"....
December 1, 2003: pics, picks and more pics:
Whhhooooooeeeee! Them's a lot of pictures! As you might have guessed by the title and that first line, a bunch of pictures from upcoming films have popped up online today. But rather than bore you with asinine babbling here, I'll just include my comments with each...
June 20, 2003: Pic of Van Helsing:
Oh yeah! That's what I'm talking about, right there! I don't think there was any doubt that Hugh Jackman was probably the perfect choice for the role of vampire slayer VAN HELSING for the upcoming film which bares his name, but just in case some of you were...
