JACKMAN ON HELSING’S BACKGROUND
From Horror.com’s interview with Hugh Jackman:
SW: So, did you come up with a back story for Van Helsing?
JACKMAN: He’s more than a vampire slayer. You will find out in this. I mean, the main story involves him hunting down Dracula. But for want of a better word, he’s kind of doing black ops for the Catholic Church. At the beginning of it, he’s doing stuff that is literally under the radar. Imagine, if you will, someone who is possessed or an exorcism that fails: what do they do with that possessed person, whether it be Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, or Frankenstein? All these mythological creatures that are on the loose. Van Helsing is sent out to take care of them. So he’s a warrior. By nature of the job, he’s lonely and mysterious and almost like a spy. So in many ways, he is misunderstood by the world and he is operating on his own steam and no one really knows who he is, except by what he leaves in his wake.
SW: So he has something in common with the monsters he’s hunting?
JACKMAN: Well, yeah. In terms of the inner turmoil and conflict going on, for sure. He’s got some personal issues of why – and I don’t want to get into too much, because I will have to give the game away – but he’s an enigmatic character and is still trying to work out what drives him. It’s also fair to say, for want to a better word, in the beginning of this movie, he’s a little lacking in motivation. He’s trying to understand why he’s doing it and it’s taking its toll on him – you know, this killing. Because when anyone is killed in this movie, if they’re a possessed soul, upon their death they turn back into the physical visage of whoever they were before. So, Jekyll and Hyde is – Mr. Hyde is the first fight he has, but when he kills him he’s left with the rotting corpse of Dr. Jekyll so it’s a lose-lose situation in way, for him.
Courtesy of Counting Down
For over 20 years the Horror Asylum has continued to bring you the very best genre news, reviews, giveaways and interviews in the horror world.