Created by Bram Stoker for the novelDracula, Abraham Van Helsing is a professor who is knowledgeable in the occult and the first to identify the mark of the vampire, and is almost always a part of the effort to slay the titular vampire. The character is often associated with Dracula’s arch-enemy in several greathorrormovies. Van Helsing has become the archetypical figure for a vampire hunter, with other vampire hunters drawing direct inspiration or subverting the character, from 1931’sDraculato the recent TVseriesWhat We Do in the Shadows.
Just as Dracula has been adapted in multiple media, so too has Van Helsing. The two seem destined to battle one another in a manner similar to Batman and the Joker or Sherlock Holmes and Moriarity. Much talk has been made about thebest film versions of Dracula, but what about Van Helsing? These are the best cinematic version of Van Helsing, ranked.
5Eduardo Arozamena in Dracula (1931, Spanish)
1931’sDraculais an iconic piece of pop culture and created the modern image of Dracula that most viewers know. While most audiences know Bela Legosi as Dracula, there was actually another version made by the same studio. Universal Pictures was focused on developing Spanish-language films for their popular movies to release in foreign markets, and commissioned a Spanish version of Dracula to be made on the same sets as the original.
The movie was filmed at night, and director George Melford was able to watch the footage from the American version shot on the same day and could just do what he needed for his version. This makes for both an eerily similar yet strangely different version of Dracula, which shows what a different set of actors and another director’s vision can do with the same script and set.
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Eduardo Arozamena plays this film’s version of Van Helsing. In contrast to Edward Van Sloan whose version is a little colder, Arozamena’s version comes off as a more welcome presence and compassionate person yet still a capable hunter.
4Hugh Jackman in Van Helsing
In 2004, Universal releasedVan Helsingputting the title monster hunter in the spotlight. Instead of Abraham Van Helsing, this version is Gabriel Van Helsing (implied to be the archangel Gabriel) and is a much younger version of the vampire hunter than previous versions. Here imagined as an action hero, Jackman brings his trademark charisma and mysterious lone warrior nature he imbued into Wolverine to imagine his Van Helsing as a cross between James Bond and Indiana Jones. The most different take on the character but one that looms large over the public perception of the character.
3Edward Van Sloan in Dracula (1931, English)
Bela Lugosi’sDraculais the most iconic cinematic take on the vampire, so his Van Helsing needs to be equally iconic and actor Edward Van Sloan effortlessly steps into the vampire hunter. Sloan’s Van Helsing is very much an older scholarly professor, with an air of elderly wisdom and in many of his scenes with other actors comes off as a grandfather figure. He is cold, stern, and stubborn which makes his confrontations with Dracula all the more interesting as it is a foe who while in appearance younger is actually older than him.
Sloan’s version of Van Helsing is in many ways the template other vampire hunters would follow for years to come, with many versions being either a homage or a response to him. Reappearing in 1936’sDracula’s Daughter(and starring in the originalFrankenstein), Van Sloan solidified himself as the true Van Helsing of the Universal Monsters era.
2Anthony Hopkins in Bram Stoker’s Dracula
When it came time to cast Van Helsing for Francis Ford Coppola’s star-studded reimaging ofBram Stoker’s Dracula, the directorcast Anthony Hopkinshot off his Academy Award-winning performance inSilence of the Lambs. The second person considered for the role was Liam Neeson, who would be nominated for an Academy Award the following year for his role inSchindler’s List.
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Hopkins' Van Helsing is far more eccentric and blunt. He seems annoyed with everyone around him, and also quick to action and despite his age has the energy and brashness expected of a younger man. Hopkins' Van Helsing is comedic, but also stern when he needs to be, and it’s a mesmerizing performance to watch in thistruly hypnotic movie. With an Academy Award-winning actor, one would think this would be the best take on the character, yet one version still stands above the rest.
1Peter Cushing in Hammer Horror Movies
While most modern audiences knowPeter Cushing for his performanceas Grand Moff Tarkin inStar Wars, his most iconic role was inHammer Studios' popular horror moviesplaying the iconic vampire hunter Van Helsing. Cushing’s Van Helsing is a more calculated individual, driven to commit his goal and particularly when compared to Edward Van Sloan much more a man of action. He is academic and quick-witted yet still has a dynamic sense of energy that makes him feel like the most well-rounded incarnation.
Cushing played the role in 1958’s masterpieceDracula(titledHorror of Draculain the United States), 1960’sBride of Dracula, and then played both Van Helsing and his descendant inDracula A.D. 1972and its sequelsThe Satanic Rites of DraculaandThe Legend of 7 Gold Vampires. Having played the role of Van Helsing in so many incarnations, it is safe to say Cushing is the most iconic and popular version of the famed vampire hunter.
