Virgil2127
A rejoint le sept. 2003
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Note de Virgil2127
Stephen Sommers made "The Mummy", once just Boris Karloff cashing in on the Egyptology craze, cool again, injecting a campy sensibility into the fun summer flick. Were he only as succeessful in "Van Helsing" as he was in "The Mummy", and heck, even the mediocre "Mummy Returns".
What's not working in Van Helsing? Well, first the titular character has no descernable connection to Abraham Van Helsing, one of Dracula's primary foes in the Bram Stoker novel. I'm convinced Hugh Jackman was born to play Wolverine, but the same cannot be said about Van Helsing - both heroes don't know their past, but with Van Helsing, no one really seems to care.
Kate Beckinsale is a tremendously beautiful and gifted actress. Unfortunately, she's saddled with a thick Translyvanian accent that would give Bela Lugosi a run for his money. About midway through the film, Beckinsale seems so frustrated with the consistency of the accent, she seems to just drop it - which is a considerable mercy.
The same can be said of the film's werewolf - it begins life an fearsome and furry CGI creation, but by the end, the producers don't seem to be trying, and the werewolf, much like the movie, seems to be in full video game mode. By now, the werewolf has lost most of its physical weight and all of its bite.
Roxbough's Dracula and his brides seem to be bi-polar. Apparently realized he's no Gary Oldman, Roxbough compensates by freaking out a lot. He's not really that scary.
Igor looks like Gary Busey. He's really that scary.
So what is working in this film? David Wenham's Carl, Van Helsing's aid. And that's really the only reason this film got a high a rating as it did.
What's not working in Van Helsing? Well, first the titular character has no descernable connection to Abraham Van Helsing, one of Dracula's primary foes in the Bram Stoker novel. I'm convinced Hugh Jackman was born to play Wolverine, but the same cannot be said about Van Helsing - both heroes don't know their past, but with Van Helsing, no one really seems to care.
Kate Beckinsale is a tremendously beautiful and gifted actress. Unfortunately, she's saddled with a thick Translyvanian accent that would give Bela Lugosi a run for his money. About midway through the film, Beckinsale seems so frustrated with the consistency of the accent, she seems to just drop it - which is a considerable mercy.
The same can be said of the film's werewolf - it begins life an fearsome and furry CGI creation, but by the end, the producers don't seem to be trying, and the werewolf, much like the movie, seems to be in full video game mode. By now, the werewolf has lost most of its physical weight and all of its bite.
Roxbough's Dracula and his brides seem to be bi-polar. Apparently realized he's no Gary Oldman, Roxbough compensates by freaking out a lot. He's not really that scary.
Igor looks like Gary Busey. He's really that scary.
So what is working in this film? David Wenham's Carl, Van Helsing's aid. And that's really the only reason this film got a high a rating as it did.
Before I begin, two things should be noted. 1) I got into Kolchalk not from the first Made-For-TV movie, but from watching re-runs of the 1974 television series, which somehow immediately entranced me and 2) the review that follows immediately follows both the Night Stalker and the Night Strangler sandwiched immediately in front of a typical dreadful horror movie.
I didn't have high hopes for The Night Strangler. It definitely doesn't have as good of title as the prior, and I always figured the Strangler was more of an after-thought on the DVD instead of a full feature. Luckily, The Night Strangler totally exceeded my every expectation.
After the events of "The Night Stalker", maverick night reporter Carl Kolchak once again finds himself in the employ of Tony Vincenzio, working a hot murder case. This time a string of women have been strangled to death by a seemingly dead man. Coupled with the loss of blood seen in every murder, the trend is enough to catch Carl's eye. No worries though. This time the culprit isn't a vampire. Instead, its an alchemist seeking immortality.
Yeah, you can see why I was having doubts about this.
Surprisingly, I found the story beared a great deal in common with a more recent novel I read, "The Cabinent of Curosities" by Lincoln Child and Douglas Preston (the same team that wrote "The Relic"). Given Kolchak's own place in pop culture and the fact that the teleplay was once again written by sci-fi legend Richard Matheson, I'm not really surprised that the possibility of the two writers borrowing the concept from this source exists.
The Night Strangler is a much more effective adversary than the vampiric Night Stalker. You won't see the Night Strangler sneaking up on Carl . . . he blends too well into the shadows and moves like a shade himself. There's also a verbal interchange with the Night Strangler and Carl Kolchak, something I found lacking the previous installment.
Ultimately, The Night Strangler is much more comfortable with its characters than "The Night Stalker". The banter between Kolchak, his love interest and Vincenzio is much more well-rounded, although I do miss a few elements from "The Night Stalker", including Kolchak's voice-overs, which is here replaced by nonetheless hilarious dialogue.
Any fan of Kolchak should definitely check this one out, and the same goes for both nostalgic fans and perhaps new ones trying to get a sneak peek at Stuart Townsend's crack at the franchise this fall (Yes, the idea seems dreadful to me right now). Regardless, the film isn't to be missed by horror fans of every caliber!
I didn't have high hopes for The Night Strangler. It definitely doesn't have as good of title as the prior, and I always figured the Strangler was more of an after-thought on the DVD instead of a full feature. Luckily, The Night Strangler totally exceeded my every expectation.
After the events of "The Night Stalker", maverick night reporter Carl Kolchak once again finds himself in the employ of Tony Vincenzio, working a hot murder case. This time a string of women have been strangled to death by a seemingly dead man. Coupled with the loss of blood seen in every murder, the trend is enough to catch Carl's eye. No worries though. This time the culprit isn't a vampire. Instead, its an alchemist seeking immortality.
Yeah, you can see why I was having doubts about this.
Surprisingly, I found the story beared a great deal in common with a more recent novel I read, "The Cabinent of Curosities" by Lincoln Child and Douglas Preston (the same team that wrote "The Relic"). Given Kolchak's own place in pop culture and the fact that the teleplay was once again written by sci-fi legend Richard Matheson, I'm not really surprised that the possibility of the two writers borrowing the concept from this source exists.
The Night Strangler is a much more effective adversary than the vampiric Night Stalker. You won't see the Night Strangler sneaking up on Carl . . . he blends too well into the shadows and moves like a shade himself. There's also a verbal interchange with the Night Strangler and Carl Kolchak, something I found lacking the previous installment.
Ultimately, The Night Strangler is much more comfortable with its characters than "The Night Stalker". The banter between Kolchak, his love interest and Vincenzio is much more well-rounded, although I do miss a few elements from "The Night Stalker", including Kolchak's voice-overs, which is here replaced by nonetheless hilarious dialogue.
Any fan of Kolchak should definitely check this one out, and the same goes for both nostalgic fans and perhaps new ones trying to get a sneak peek at Stuart Townsend's crack at the franchise this fall (Yes, the idea seems dreadful to me right now). Regardless, the film isn't to be missed by horror fans of every caliber!