“Van Helsing” is one of those movies that’s just….fun. Yes,
the whole premise of Dracula trying to make his wives happy by creating children
for them is about as far-fetched as you can get. But if you can suspend the
total disbelief that idea might cause and just let yourself become immersed in
the world of the movie? It’s a rippin’ good time.
This movie is old enough, and was just popular enough, that
I’m not going to worry about spoilers here. So, just as a quick refresher, here’s
the gist of the movie. Van Helsing works for the Vatican, dealing with problems
that the everyday folks just can’t. Heck, most of the everyday folks don’t even
know about things like men who become wolves. Or benign doctors who become
grotesque monsters when they take a potion. So, he’s also wanted by the law.
Now we’ll introduce our beautiful heroine, Gypsy princess*,
who along with her brother, is trying to defeat none other than Dracula. What
they don’t know is that their success will admit generations of their family to
Heaven. And the only two surviving members of the family’s line are her and her
brother. Van Helsing needs to make sure this happens. Apparently, there’s some
sort of curse on them.
Now Dracula’s wives are feeling bereft because they can’t
have children. (Why this would be an issue when you’re undead, I don’t know. I
mean, you’re no longer human or living, so the drive to procreate should be
gone, but hey, it’s a movie.) To make this happen, Dracula has encouraged the
experiments of one Dr. Frankenstein, thinking that the creature he creates will
provide the extra something-something needed to zap the “children” into a state
of life.
Sounds bonkers to me, but that’s part of what makes it so fun!
What makes it even more fun is watching Richard Roxburgh’s Dracula. I swear that
man could just stand there and still steal whatever scene he’s in. (You might
also recognize him as “M” from “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen”.) The
fact that he gives us a somewhat sympathetic Dracula just adds to the movie. And
yes, he scores on the sexy scale as well. Maybe not Langella levels, but still up
there.
And can we talk about Hugh Jackman’s hair for just a moment?
It rivals even Kate Beckinsale’s in its gloriousness. I have no idea how much
hair spray was used in the movie, but their hair stays in place regardless of
what they’re doing. And Jackman’s mane may actually outshine Kurt Russell’s in “The
Thing”. (Who knew I had a thing for men with amazing hair? Apparently, I didn’t!)
The movie is a fast-paced, adventurous romp from start to
finish, with a few bits about family ties and what makes us human tossed in for
good measure. It’s got moments where you’re worried about the protagonists. It’s
got moments where you tear up a little bit. AND it makes you feel, at least a
little, for the monsters as well. And it’s beautiful to watch.
The basic premise of “Van Helsing” could easily translate to
a Ravenloft setting and campaign, but it would also be fun to toss in just
about any horror game. Tone down the over-the-top nature of the movie as much
as you need and substitute appropriate horror monsters for your setting. You
can either have your characters trying to save a good and virtuous family from
a curse or, have some added fun and make some of them the ones with the curse.
Either way, you can’t easily go wrong.
October and the horror movie challenge are over, but I’m
still getting caught up. If you’d like to see my movie selections, you can find
them in this post. And if you’re curious what themes Pun Isac originally
proposed, check out his post here on the Halls of the Nephilim.
*Now, why did I use the word Gypsy instead of Roma or Romany?
Well, because that’s what they are in the movie. However, they are also not
wondering travelers, going from town to town, in the movie either. Rather they
are settled in a Transylvanian village as its leaders. In normal writing situations,
I try to no longer use the word Gypsy and instead rely on Roma.
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