Having heard only bad things, I expected a soul-crushing dud of Van Helsing proportions. Actually, it’s a lot of fun.

At times it takes itself too seriously, and for a bit in the middle it goes on, but mostly it’s thoroughly daft — in a good way. Some of that’s deliberate humour, other bits likely unintentional (why do a random scattering of characters have American accents?!) The action and gore are treated appropriately too; that’s to say, outrageously comical most of the time.

It’s not some missed classic, but it is a fun time, and plentifully entertaining as a comedy-horror-fantasy-action flick.

This review is part of the 100 Films Advent Calendar 2013. Read more here.

In the interests of completing my ever-growing backlog, I decided to post ‘drabble reviews’ of some films. For those unfamiliar with the concept, a drabble is a complete piece of writing exactly 100 words long.

* Despite being ‘unrated’ in America, both cuts received a 15 from the BBFC. They list the extended version as precisely 10 minutes longer. There’s a full list of differences here, or a quicker summary here. ^