Van Helisng (2004) and its Portrayal of Dracula's Brides

                                     Van Helisng (2004) and its Portrayal of Dracula's Brides


The film Van Helsing is unique in its adaptation of Dracula in that Van Helsing is a vigilante monster hunter employed by a secret society dedicated to doing God's work by eliminating evil forces from the world. His task is to kill Dracula and prevent him from creating viable offspring to terrorize Transylvania. Instead of being accompanied by the ragtag team described in the novel, Van Helsing is aided by Anna Valerious, whose entire family line will be prevented from entering heaven if Dracula is not vanquished. The film uniquely blends various iconic monstrous identities, such as Frankenstein's monster, werewolves, and, of course, Dracula, to create a distinct storytelling experience.


The disturbing brides of Dracula described in the novel have an equally unsettling presence in the film. The interpretive decisions made in regards to these characters present some problematic portrayals of gender.

In a scene very similar to the one in the novel where Jonathan is almost attacked by the brides, Anna Valerious is about to be fed on by two of the three brides. Anna's head is tilted back, leaving her neck fully exposed. Her chest is heaving and she is moaning. In a later scene, one of the brides even goes as far as to lick her face. Just like in the novel, the scene has very sexual overtones. Since this scene is composed solely of women, it certainly counters heteronormativity, but not in a productive way. Both Anna and the brides are hypersexualized throughout the entire film, constantly depicted in a scantily clad way and making noises reminiscent of ones an individual may make when experiencing sexual pleasure. Both of which add no value to the narrative. To me, this scene was very much designed to appeal to the male gaze rather than thoughtfully challenge heteronormativity.


Most of the scenes where the brides are present,
Dracula is not. The brides are often
seeking out and attacking Dracula's enemies, but he never attacks unless he is approached by them first. This coupled with the fact that they refer to him as master, reinforces the idea that wives should serve their husbands. Their entire afterlife appears to be spent doing Dracula's dirty work and running errands for him. Their relationship to Dracula is more slave-like than spouse like, but their label as brides suggests that this is what is expected out of a partnership on part of the woman. I know that these brides are not human, but unlike Dracula or the other male monsters, they are portrayed much more like objects or pawns than autonomous creatures, which says a lot about how gender was unfortunately represented in this film.