Van Helsing

Van Helsing was first introduced in the year 1897 novel Dracula. Later Van Helsing shows up in films for just a few scenes in the 1970’s and 1990’s. It was not until 2004 when Universal Pictures decides to make a movie on the vampire slayer Abraham van Helsing from the novel Dracula. Universal Pictures decided to take other monster characters from different novels and put them in their movie, like Dracula, Frankenstein’s monster, and werewolves.

Van Helsing in Dracula

In the novel, Van Helsing is called in by his former student, Dr. John Seward, to assist with the mysterious illness of Lucy Westenra. Van Helsing's friendship with Seward is based in part upon an unknown prior event in which Van Helsing suffered a grievous wound, and Seward saved his life by sucking out the gangrene. It is van Helsing who first realizes that Lucy is the victim of a vampire, and he guides Dr. Seward and his friends in their efforts to save Lucy.

According to Leonard Wolf's annotations to the novel, Van Helsing had a son who died. Van Helsing says that his son, had he lived, would have had a similar appearance to another character, Arthur Holmwood. Consequently, Van Helsing developed a particular fondness for Holmwood. Van Helsing's wife went insane after their son's death. From the novel there is no insight how Van Helsing actually looks. He is briefly described by John Seward and he said “He is a seemingly arbitrary man, this is because he knows what he is talking about better than anyone else. He is a philosopher and a metaphysician, and one of the most advanced scientists of his day, and he has, I believe, an absolutely open mind. This, with an iron nerve, a temper of the ice-brook, and indomitable resolution, self-command, and toleration exalted from virtues to blessings, and the kindliest and truest heart that beats, these form his equipment for the noble work that he is doing for mankind, work both in theory and practice, for his views are as wide as his all-embracing sympathy”.

Van Helsing in the novel is portrayed as a big bad vampire slayer who has a gang of hunters to go with him to defeat Dracula because of what he did to his wife. From the novel it seems that Van Helsings main occupation is just going around and slaying all the vampires he can until he meets up with Dracula but we really have no idea how he actually looks at all.

Van Helsing the Film

Van Helsing is sent by the Knights of the Holy Order to Transylvania to aid the Valerious family; descendants of Dracula who have vowed that they will never enter heaven unless they have destroyed his evil, and for nine generations have failed. He takes with him Carl, a friar who creates and provides the weapons Van Helsing uses, he is given part of an inscription and a ring as his only clues to his identity and to the mystery. Meanwhile, the last two members of the family; Anna and Velkan arrange a trap for a werewolf that ambushes them and apparently kills Velkan by falling with him over a cliff. When Van Helsing arrives, he saves Anna from Dracula's brides, killing Marishka which briefly turns the townsfolk against him, who fear retaliation, but Anna comes to his defense. Upon her insistence on taking the fight to Dracula, Van Helsing knocks her out, but she awakens in the night and discovers her brother Velkan; still alive, but now a werewolf himself. Van Helsing drives him off, and the two track him to Frakenstien's castle where they discover he is attempting to use the werewolf to replicate Doctor Frankenstein's experiment and bring his undead children to life, Dracula makes reference to Van Helsing being the "Left Hand of God" who had killed him once

Van Helsing and Dracula battle and he becomes a werewolf. Killing him at the last second, he turns on Anna who injects him with the cure, but he kills her. The monster leaves Transylvania by raft while a cured Van Helsing and Carl light a pyre over Anna's body. He looks up and sees Anna with her family in heaven, and realizes his mission was a success before he and Carl depart on horseback into the sunset.

Universal Pictures changed Van Helsing a little bit from the book. He really has no idea who he is or how he ended up at the Knights of the Holy Order. He struggles a little bit when trying to figure out who he really is. It is not until Van Helsing battles Dracula that he finds out who he really is. He has a flash back in time how he was always trying to kill Dracula before and he was not able too until now.