Will they? Universal, which made the “Mummy” movies with Sommers, is betting a fortune that this film will not only be a hit, but spin off a sequel, a TV series, a videogame and a theme-park ride, as well as bring DVD sales for its classic monster flicks back from the dead. Based on a Bram Stoker character, Van Helsing (Jackman) is a crusader with a mysterious past, sent by the church to save Anna (Beckinsale), the last member of a vampire-killing dynasty, and to destroy Count Dracula. Meanwhile, Dracula’s three brides have borne him thousands of undead babies he wants to bring fully to life. The only way to do that is to channel lightning through the body of Frankenstein’s monster into the evil offspring. Unfortunately, the gentle giant wants no part of this master plan and is hiding. Oh, and Anna’s brother has become a werewolf and is enslaved to Dracula. After that, it gets complicated. But right now, “Van Helsing” is facing a foe far more nefarious than any on-screen villain: Bad Buzz.
If horror geeks were irked about “The Mummy,” they’re furious about “Van Helsing.” Early test screenings have inspired multiple negative Web reviews on the Ain’t It Cool News site, ranging from the disappointed (“Really, really, these films don’t have to be this dumb”) to the outraged (“It’s less painful to poke yourself in the eye for two hours and five minutes”). Normally, that reaction wouldn’t matter much. “Geeks are like the new jocks,” says Universal chairman Stacey Snider. “They’re too cool for school. Having their support is meaningful sometimes, but they want filmmakers to show a little restraint, to hold back, and Stephen doesn’t do that. His movies are designed as popular entertainment. Everyday fans love them, but it doesn’t give him street cred.”
Far more problematic is that these Web reviews are read by the media and the film industry, which have turned speculation about “Van Helsing” into blood sport. Summer is Hollywood’s high-stakes season. Usually, more than 40 percent of annual ticket sales are generated between May and September, so studios tend to spend as much time slagging other people’s movies as shilling their own. And since “Van Helsing” is first out of the gate, it’s getting a double dose of venom.
Ask competing execs to handicap the summer, and they inevitably say one of two things: “How bad do you think ‘Van Helsing’s’ going to be?” or “I heard it cost $200 million.” That figure wound up in a scathing column by Daily Variety editor Peter Bart, who criticized Universal for making a crassly commercial, too-expensive movie. The studio insists that isn’t true–well, the “too expensive” part, anyway. “We’re in the $150 million range, for real,” says Snider. “There are maybe five to 10 directors who can handle a movie of this size, and it was textbook smooth. There are 1,100 visual-effects shots. We didn’t go over budget in effects, and Stephen didn’t reshoot one day of footage. This is a man who will not let you down.”
It’s unclear whether all this sound and fury will signify much. The movie will almost certainly open huge this Friday but will have to compete with “Troy,” starring Brad Pitt, next week and “Shrek 2” the week after that. The studio will probably turn a profit on “Van Helsing,” but those other potential revenue streams–the TV show, the videogame, etc.–could suffer if word of mouth isn’t good. Horror-genre purists may not dig this action-adventure-horror-romance-comedy that mixes everything from the James Bond movies to “The Wizard of Oz” into a special-effects showcase. But that’s the same mix audiences loved in “The Mummy” and exactly what Universal ordered: broad entertainment with zero edge.
“I’m not really an edgy kind of guy,” says Sommers, sitting in his Santa Monica office surrounded by posters of “Gunga Din” and “Captain Blood.” He’s lean and affable, and talks faster than most people drive. “You want dark and twisted, call David Fincher. I’m a PG-13 guy. I don’t like scary movies. Movies like ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ are so real–and not in a good way. I don’t like to be disturbed. I like to be entertained and thrilled.”
On the set in Prague last year, Sommers was bouncing around in the thermal footwear he dubbed his “Frankenstein disco boots,” firing off the list of mysteries that had driven him to make this monster movie. “Why can’t Frankenstein’s monster speak? Why can’t Dracula see his reflection in a mirror? When the Wolf Man rips off his clothes, where do they go?” So many questions. Now he just needs to see how much the public wants the answers.
