- Directed by: Natasha Kermani
- Written by: Natasha Kermani, Joe Hill
- Stars: Titus Welliver, Brady Hepner, Judah Mackey
- Run Time: 1 Hour, 29 Minutes
- Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jceXrIriKMc
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
About eighteen years after the events of “Dracula,” Dr. Van Helsing has married Mina, had two sons, and moved with the family to an isolated area in California to get away from it all. But of course, the past is hard to leave behind. This was an interesting take on vampires, heavy on family drama and suspense, and we were both entertained.
Spoilery Synopsis
We open in California, 1915, 18 years after the death of Count Dracula, where a woman tries to get a ride into town. As the sun starts to go down, someone grabs her, and the screams suddenly stop. Credits roll.
We cut to Abraham Van Helsing who greets Mina, his wife. Their sons, Rudy and Max are outside working. Abraham tells Max that he’s learned that they can’t hide forever. He’s vague, but they’re going to need to be prepared for something.
That night, Mina tells Max that “The devil is coming and I want to be ready for him.” She seems… upset. Abraham tells Max about their strange adventure 18 years ago and what happened to Mina; she was infected, and that still bothers her. They fled to California to build their family, but now the threat has followed them here. If there are vampires in the area, they may be drawn to Mina because they are all connected.
Elsie brings an injured man; Eddie was hurt working on the new rail tracks coming into the area. Dr. Van Helsing uses what looks like a butter knife to release the pressure on his lung so he can breathe. Inside, a bat gets into the house, and Mina doesn’t take it well. Rudy asks Max if he believes in “Father’s creatures.” They both doubt the existence of vampires, but Rudy’s heard crying and scratching at night.
The next day, Elsie brings them cookies as a thank you; Eddie will live. Mina warns her about hungry things in the night, and she doesn’t mean the railroad men. When Max has trouble with his algebra homework, Mina talks about Dracula’s cold breath on her cheek.
That night, we see someone outside in the nearby woods. Max comes downstairs and sees his mother being bitten by Nosferatu– nope, just a nightmare.
The next day, Mina takes ill for no apparent reason. Abraham talks Max through the process to do a blood transfusion to re-energize Mina.
The boys sneak into Abraham’s office and find a hidden basement. There’s someone down there who wants out.
Abraham comes in and kills the woman, who we saw in the pre-credit sequence. Abraham then has no choice other than to detail his life’s work. He’s killed thirteen of the undead and trained others. He explains that the woman was in the process of becoming a vampire after being attacked in the hills. He hands Max a stake and a mallet. Max asks about her fangs, and is told that the fangs vanish when the vampire is dead. He wants Rudy to cut off the woman’s head, and that doesn’t go well. Abraham may not be Father of the Year.
Abraham shows the boys how to defend the house against vampires as Mina gets more and more sickly. Max meets Elsie and they talk about his mother. Max wonders if Abraham’s treatments might be making Mina worse.
Mina dies, and there’s a funeral. Max dreams about Mina and Dracula. Arthur Holmwood, an old friend of Abraham and Mina’s, arrives. He, too, doubts what they did all those years ago, and he knows why Abraham is really in California. “What if we made a mistake?” He thinks Abraham turned him against Lucy, that she wasn’t a monster after all. Arthur leaves after an argument.
Max accuses his father of being insane, “There’s nothing out there!” Abraham then stabs him in the hand and throws him into the dungeon. Max soon breaks out, grabs his axe, and starts looking for his father, who has grabbed Rudy and run off.
Meanwhile, Elsie is in the railroad camp, and she talks to Henry, who goes suddenly quiet when he steps out of the camp. Henry comes out of the woods holding a bloody neck, and then a man in black grabs Elsie– it’s Abraham! He insists that Rudy drive a stake through Elsie’s heart. Rudy turns around and stakes his father in the belly instead, which just angers him. Max comes up from behind and finishes him off with the axe. Elsie runs off.
Max and Rudy ride off, leaving their home behind. They pass Elsie and Eddie on the way out of the area.
Brian’s Commentary
It’s more of a family drama than a real horror story, but obviously it fits here. After a while, we were questioning whether Van Helsing was a monster hunter or serial killer. We eventually get down to the truth, as Max learns to understand his father.
It’s an interesting take on the vampire story. It wasn’t exactly what I expected, but I did find it entertaining.
Kevin’s Commentary
At first I thought it was going to be a standard vampire tale, and as it unfolded I kept waiting for the vampires to show up. Not only are there no vampires here, but it leaves you wondering if there were really vampires in Dracula. It’s on the slow moving side, but I didn’t mind a bit.