I know I’m in the minority, but I actually liked Stephen Sommers’s VAN HELSING movie, starring Hugh Jackman as the dashing vampire hunter. I appreciated it for what it was, a bit of cheesy fun. And it had Kate Beckinsale in it, which didn’t hurt. I was sorta disappointed that it never got a big theatrical sequel. There were still monsters aplenty for Van Helsing to track down, weren’t there? Eleven years after that film debuted, the character is getting another chance to rid the night of its terrors. Only it won’t be on the big screen, but on the ScyFy Channel. And Hugh Jackman won’t be reprising the role. In fact, it won’t be ANY man stepping into Van Helsing’s boots. This new version will feature a Van Helsing who’s a chick. VANessa Helsing. (Vanessa Van Helsing, one would assume, the daughter of the grizzled old professor from the novel DRACULA.)
I know, I know. I can hear the collective groans from the hordes of Horror geekdom. But let us not be too hasty to dismiss it. Granted, the idea hardly seems original. That doesn’t mean it can’t be fun, if handled correctly. If they go the BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER route with it. I’m willing to give it a chance. Are you?