Market's View of Van Helsing

[frankthedm]

FWIW I found the werewolf in Harry Potter 3 to be much more scary and menacing than the ones in Van Helsing!

I disagree, the HP3 wolf was a balding, lanky, mangy slowpoke. The VH ones were far more menacing, though the second one did not look that great.

Though the HP had a far better actor for the human form than the combination of the VH werewolf actors.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Whatever the truth about movie budgets and their relationship to the numbers actually released, it's definitely true that Van Helsing has underperformed to expectations. It's not doing as well as The Mummy did over the same time span, or The Mummy Returns, Sommers' last two pictures.

Now those were both runaway smash hits, so I don't think anyone's taking a bath on VH, but it's definitely not the hit it was supposed to be.

There will probably be a sequel, but expectations (and investment) will probably be toned down for number two.

If I remember right I heard The Mummey was $65,000,000 to make and The Return was $75,000,000, a far cry from $160!

 

[frankthedm]

To be honest its hollywoods own fault they pay the unions FAR too much for making movies.

 

[Desdichado]

To be honest its hollywoods own fault they pay the unions FAR too much for making movies.

That seems like a pretty silly thing to say. You think Hollywood wants to pay union wages? The whole point of unions is to make management sit up and pay attention when they'd rather not, because the unions have the clout to make them do so.

Not that I'm disagreeing with you; having grown up in Texas where unions don't exist, picked up a degree in Economics where they teach you empirically that unions worsen the economy for everybody involved, and moved to Detroit for work where unions are a big deal, I quite often say that I think unions are only a step away from communisim, and we can show empirically how well that worked out. But to say that it's Hollywood's fault? As if they had any choice? I don't get it.

 

[frankthedm]

move the industry.

 

[Plane Sailing]

I disagree, the HP3 wolf was a balding, lanky, mangy slowpoke. The VH ones were far more menacing, though the second one did not look that great.

What I liked about it was the unhuman proportions, the four legged gait and the gaze. It was so different to the classic "man in a suit" werewolf from days of yore. To me the VH ones were just standard comic-book fare.

Plus I think good slow movements can convey greater horror than stuff which is so rapid you can't see it (which is better for shock). VH werewolves were great for shock, HP werewolf was great for horror.

n.b. I'm not trying to change your opinion - just expressing mine more fully.

Cheers