With ‘The Mummy’ set to kick off things in the Universal Horror Movie universe, it is time to turn our eyes to the next film and ‘Van Helsing‘ co-writer Eric Heisserer (‘Arrival’) has some interesting things to say about it. With his recent success it is fun to know that he took this on after probably having any project at his fingertips though as his previous writing credits include both ‘Lights Out’ and ‘The Thing’ it should be no surprise that he would gravitate towards horror.
Heisserer co-wrote the script with Jon Spaihts and with this writing talent behind it, you know that at the very least it will be a good read. If they can pull off the right director and actors, this could be a fun ride.
So how did Heisserer end up on ‘Van Helsing’ when all of the writers were brought together to work on the Universal Monster features and how did he end up with Spaihts?
“We all came in without putting a flag down on any of those certain monsters or films, just talking about how we saw the world working and what we wanted to explore. Sometimes we’d talk about themes, and Jon and I just found ourselves kind of on the same page in terms of what we wanted to see Van Helsing explore. It was a natural team-up, I think. It was just a conclusion that we all reached around the table that he and I would work on that together.”
He won’t share any in-depth details but did tease us that this won’t be a superhero chasing after Dracula kind of film as one would expect with previous iterations of the character:
“Well I guess the biggest thing that’s already been said is it’s contemporary, it’s a modern-day reimagining… I can talk about my emotional state of what I’ve been passionate about or sometimes frustrated by are the number of films where we find an extraordinary character with superhuman abilities that becomes a hero to solve a problem that a normal person cannot solve. And I was eager to try and buck that trend and showcase someone who had no extraordinary powers, just resourcefulness, and will and kind of a stubbornness who’s able to tackle some of these bigger problems. Because I don’t like the idea that we’re infusing our public and our pop culture with the idea that only super people can solve the world’s problems. I like the idea of the everyday hero stepping up to the plate and getting things fixed.”
The more that we’ve been hinted at on all of these films, the less like horror and more like action they sound and seem. What about ‘Van Helsing’?
“I don’t know what it’s going to look like at the end of the process, so I’m gonna withhold on commenting on really where it lands. I can say that my intent stepping in was to make it as scary as possible, partly because I know how to do that, and also because when you’re the only human surrounded by a bunch of supernatural creatures, that’s gotta be absolutely unnerving.”
While it doesn’t quite sound like horror is the goal it does seem like suspense will be an aspect of the movie. At least, what they write on page.
Are you looking forward to ‘Van Helsing’? Share your thoughts below!
Source: Collider
Stuart Conover is an author, blogger, and all around geek. When not busy being a father and husband he tries to spend as much time as possible immersed in comic books, science fiction, and horror! Would you like to know more? Follow him on Twitter!
