The Blood is the Life

 

I think the approach by Hopkins as Abraham Van Helsing is fascinating. Yes, I think many will draw some Hannibal Lector from it but I must say that giving Van Helsing this off-kilter, sort of somewhat peculiar, more than a bit eccentric doctor, with not only medical genius as we see upon introduction as he discusses blood, venereal disease, syphilitic conditions before a class of students but also occult sciences know-how, some odd personality quirks makes for an entertaining interpretation of the character. And maybe being so strange and awkward is what an adversary of Dracula needs. 

Sort of tackling the issue of how to stop such a force of abhorrent nature as Dracula, a bloodsucking anti-God vampire, it is an elephant in the room when confronted with the understanding that Vlad was a problem for an army of Turks when he was human. So how on earth can you stop him when he has such powers to shapeshift, seduce, mind control, and attack with even greater ferocity and cleverness. He's equipped with so much advantage.

When Van Helsing laughs and shouts about Lucy being a bitch of the devil, a whore of darkness, a devoted disciple, a devil's concubine to rich cowboy Quincy (Bill Campbell), he's essentially beside himself. He wants meat, to be fed. He leaves Lucy vulnerable while suitor Quincy and her other wealthy suitor and fiance, Arthur Holmwood (Cary Elwes), by her bed drunk, clearly are no match for Dracula. Van Helsing in this iteration isn't a Cushing of empathy or integrity, with the gravity to realize that telling Mina that he lopped off her best friend's head and burned the body as if treating to a patient's cold would be like a punch to the gut and puncture of the heart. He does defend Mina with a protective circle of fire as Dracula's brides close in, even though he is seduced by her when she's under Vlad's spell. When the brides kill a horse, Van Helsing sure returns the favor with their severed heads. The savage picture of Van Helsing with a face of blood spray sure paints a helluva picture. As does Van Helsing pulling a serious Cushing crucifix stance as Lucy, deprived of her little child din-din, gushes from her mouth blood in his face out of spite. Van Helsing just keeps chanting his Latin vampire repellent verbiage and she can't do a damn thing.

So Van Helsing is just crazy enough and brave enough to go right at Dracula, using the advantage of destroying his coffins of home dirt, killing Lucy, holding Mina from him, and eventually taking their fight to Transylvania. He had the big book on Nosferatu, the Dracool as he says it. He arms himself with the Lord's backing. And Dracula needs his blood and has his disadvantages.