It’s strange that with the beginning of Bram Stoker’s 1897 Dracula that the title character has lived on and on over the centuries, just like the character from the book. Granted, through cinematic adaptations, the character has changed a bit over the 129 years, not to mention just that of the vampire. But usually in any vampire movie, there is a character stepping up to do battle with this mighty creature. In Stoker’s novel, it was Professor Abraham Van Helsing, the old but learned scholar that knew what was behind this recent infection. While he was brought over to the original stage play adaption, and then into the 1931 film, Dracula. But while there were countless variations on Dracula, as well as the vampire, for some reason, the character of Van Helsing, who usually is there to save the day, doesn’t seem to get the credit he deserves.
Until now!
Van Helsing and His Kin is a new book from Daniel O’Brien coming from Telos Publishing that not only covers the different variations of this character through film and television, and who played him, but also digging deep into the character and characteristics of this age-old vampire hunter.
This book will be published in September of this year, running a little over 300 pages, and priced at £16.99 or $22.85. For more information, head over to Telos Publishing’s site HERE.
Even though this book was released October of 2018, this is the first time I’ve come across it, or at least that I’m remembering! Of course, being on Hammer Films, I know I’m going to need to add it to my library. But at only 96 pages, it does raise some concerns on the content. Sure, I’ll be ordering it anyway, if only to be able to review it here and let other Hammer fans out there know whether it is worth their $25!
A Vault of Horror: A Book of Great (and Not So Great) British Horror Movies from 1956-1974
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