VAMPIRE SLAYERS – WHO’S GOT WHAT IT (S)TAKES?

Nosferatu (1922), Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992), Dracula: Dead And Loving It (1995) Van Helsing (2004)

Van Helsing

Hugh Jackman did his best to attempt the role of the good doctor in the 2004 retelling that made Gabriel Van Helsing the main protagonist of the tale. Fighting not just a series of vampires but also taking the time off to battle a bunch of other boogeyman who were going bump in the European night including the Wolfman and Mr Hyde. However, Van Helsing was famous long before the Ozzie A-Lister decided to pick up the reigns.

Professor Abraham van Helsing was originally the protagonist of Bram Stoker’s groundbreaking vampiric classic, Dracula (1897). He is best known for being the sworn enemy of the vampire to end all vampires, Count Dracula. It’s not often that you’ll find a Dracula movie without a character who is a variation on Stoker’s Van Helsing in one way or another, so here’s a little peak at who has been best at reprising the role.

The first ever Dracula movie included John Gottowt (as Professor Bulwer) in Nosferatu (1922), however, Gottowt was seriously overshadowed by Max Schreck who reprised the role of Count Orlok, and gave us one of the most memorable horror movie images of he 20th century:

Mel Brooks threw his Van Helsingesque hat in to the mix in arguably the best Dracula parody ever comprised, Dracula: Dead and Loving It, seconded only to the hand puppet show that Jason Siegel wrote for Forgetting Sarah Marshall. However, it is undoubtedly Anthony Hopkins’ time as the Dutch Doctor of the Undead in Francis Ford Coppola’s retelling of Stoker’s Dracula (1992) that really stands out. Hopkins, ever the talisman for such a role, shines throughout with his gritty portrayal of the vampire slayer. He is seen to trick vampires, fend off attack with the use of a communion wafer and even has the audacity to pull a Johnny Cash by using a ring of fire to protect himself from the Vampire brides.