Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
Famed monster slayer Gabriel Van Helsing is dispatched to Transylvania to assist the last of the Valerious bloodline in defeating Count Dracula. Anna Valerious reveals that Dracula has formed an unholy alliance with Dr. Frankenstein's monster and is hell-bent on exacting a centuries-old curse on her family.
Van Helsing is a maximalist monster-mash blockbuster that throws Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, werewolves, and Mr. Hyde into one overwrought gothic blender. The plot is cluttered and logic-light, relying on convoluted mythology that never quite coheres. Acting is broadly hammy — Jackman plays it straight while Beckinsale and Roxburgh lean into camp, creating tonal inconsistency. Cinematography is competent blockbuster spectacle with some genuinely atmospheric gothic set pieces, though the heavy CGI often undercuts practical craft. Novelty earns a moderate mark for its ambitious monster-team-up concept and steampunk Vatican gadgetry — it's a distinct and earnest swing at a Universal Monsters crossover that few films have attempted at this scale. The ending is unsatisfying, resolving its emotional stakes in rushed and unconvincing fashion with a tacked-on tragic turn that feels unearned.