Paul Logan, Way of the Vampire (2005) 
The Asylum’s attempt to ride the Van Helsing coattails by casting an unshaven Australian pretty boy (Rhett Giles) as Stoker’s little old Dutch vampire-hunter. Like Hugh Jackman’s Gabriel Van Helsing, this Abraham Van Helsing is an immortal working for the church. In a black and white prologue, Van Helsing and a quickly-written-out band defeat Dracula (unimpressive Paul Logan). Foolishly, Van Helsing has left his wife in the care of Sebastien (Andreas Beckett)– either the son or a disciple of Dracula, depending on whether you believe the film or the trailer – who turns her, so the hero has to kill her.
The bulk of the film is set in present-day Los Angeles, mostly in large, deserted warehouses where Van Helsing and Sebastien hang out with their posses. Van Helsing, a blood specialist in a local hospital, trains some devoted churchgoers in the art of vampire-slaying, while Sebastian keeps a low profile and insists his minions don’t hunt humans. It winds up in a West Side Story showdown between the two bands, with Sebastien dead but Van Helsing still not free of his burden in that number two vampire Arianna (improbable but glamorous Denise Boutte) is still out there. Very, very cheap and poorly played, with scrappy fights and elementary horror. Scripted by Sherri Strain, Karrie Melendrez, Michael Stewart; directed by Sarah Nean and Bruce Eduardo Durao.
Extract from Kim Newman’s Video Dungeon.
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