In the past decade, Universal Pictures has tried to reignite the founders of it shared universe, the Universal Classic Monsters, by creating a brand-new world titled the Dark Universe. Initially, Dracula Untold was meant to be the franchise's first entry, but that was later switched to 2017's The Mummy. However, poor critical and audience reception quickly silenced the Dark Universe before it could properly be brought to life. Even though these attempts made it seem like a shared universe of monsters was impossible, Universal had already perfected the idea in 2004 with Van Helsing.

Van Helsing followed Hugh Jackman as the titular hero, a much younger version of the literary character from Bram Stoker's Dracula. Rather than play an older, more methodic hunter of vampires, he played a version that acted more like James Bond meets Zorro as he hunted monsters for the Vatican with a collection of unique and advanced gadgets for the time. The film had the hero travel to Transylvania to hunt Count Dracula, but he also encountered other creators like The Wolf Man and Frankenstein's Monster, and it succeeded where the Dark Universe failed.

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For starters, the film's director was no stranger to the Universal Monsters and brought them to a new audience. Before Van Helsing, Stephen Sommers had already tackled The Mummy and The Mummy Returns, which have since become cult classics. He knew how to inject fear and horror while reaching a wider audience through fun characters and advanced special effects. Essentially he did exactly what the original films had done but for the 21st Century.

The film also had Hugh Jackman as the lead, an actor who was hot off the heels of X-Men, and his star had only continued rising. The movie also included Kate Beckinsale, who had her own monster movie franchise with Underworld that proved she knew how to handle herself in the action-horror arena. With two perfectly cast actors, the film could then focus on perfecting and revolutionizing the monsters, which was undoubtedly the most exciting part of the film.

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Dracula Kills His Victim In Van Helsing

Though Van Helsing took some liberties with its lore and altered the rules of lycanthropy and vampirism, it maintained the spirit of what made the originals great. For example, in this universe, werewolves have venom in their bite and could be cured with an antidote. Even though this concept seemed strange, the film managed to capture the pain of the man who was cursed, as he wanted nothing more than to either die or be left alone. The movie also bolstered the relationship and feud between Dracula and Van Helsing in a way that felt true to the book but also exciting for the film's higher momentum.

Ultimately, Van Helsing didn't impact audiences in the same way that The Mummy had, and for that reason, there were no sequels with the character. Nevertheless, it served as a blueprint for how Universal Pictures' should've embraced its connected world. Even if Van Helsing hadn't returned, the tale of The Wolf Man or Frankenstein's Monster would've been perfect fodder for spin-offs that could've brought the monsters back much earlier. That said, even if Van Helsing didn't reach the heights it ambitiously set out for, it showed audiences that the Universal Monsters could still work in one film and may return to that status quo in the future.