#richard roxburgh gif

[anyataylorjoys]

Richard Roxburgh as Dracula VAN HELSING (2004) dir. Stephen Sommers

[ophelialoveshandsomemen]

Say what you will about Van Helsing 2004; hate it, love it, be indifferent, But the All-Hallow's masquerade ball went sooooo hard and it had zero right to do so! It's a fun, campy, monster mash movie with wonderfully dated ( and expensive) cgi and non-stop action meant to be a popcorn flick one takes out to watch around spooky season. And it has this* chef's kiss* GORGEOUS 6 minute sequence plopped arbitrarily in the second act, which unexpectedly surpasses nearly every other ball in the last 30+ years of film( notable exception being the Cinderella 2015 ball) for literally no reason other than to be dramatic af.

Like feast your eyes on this Gothic masterpiece!!! Who doesn't want to immediately live in this picture?!??

They used those candles with oil in them so that they would have real candles, real string orchestra( I believe), probably around 100 real life extras( something which is tragically absent in modern film), said extras are all in beautiful fully decked-out costumes( which are in luxuriously dark colours, but nearly no fully black, another thing you cannot say for much modern cinema), REAL CIRQUE DU SOLEIL PERFORMERS for all the acrobatics!!!! Hell, instead of filming in a sound stage, where they could control the reverb and the acoustics and the size of the set and the bloody lighting ( they apparently had a heck of a time emulating the firelight for this sequence) and the temperature( it's very cold in stone churches!) better, they filmed in a Baroque church in Prague! As I said, peak dramatic splendour, jfc...

Think about that a second...They filmed a vampire masquerade in a Baroque Catholic Church( St. Nicholas' in Lesser Town, if you were curious) with amazing over-the-top acoustics and marble statues and real, tiled floors and marble pillars and a choir loft which they very much utilized, covered the pipe organ and the altar with a grand brocade curtain so it wouldn't be so obviously a, you know, a church! And there's a gold gilt elevated and canopied pulpit into which they put two vampire kiddies for, again, the sake of being dramatic.

And the costumes! They remind me of the 25th anniversary Phantom of the Opera Masquerade costumes. Same quality, like they're old, well-cared-for costumes pulled out of a warehouse, instead of fast industry churn-outs. With lots of trim and colour and masks and lace and feathers and..just...ugh.. they are all perfect! Just look at all the head pieces on the ladies and the hats on all the gentleman ( save Dracula of course) and the powdered wigs on the musicians. ANNNNDD! The dresses are historically correct!!!!!! It's the 80's bustle era! Nobody does the 80's bustle era in film anymore and it's a bummer. Oh and one other thing! Anna's ( and other women's) hair, at least here in the ball, is also historically accurate because it's all pinned up! None of those fucken modern beachwaves at a ball! Everybody's got updo's!

Gah, I swear, Dracula in his gold cloak really does things to me in this scene!

By the way, the acrobatics are bonkers in here for just background stuff!! Especially the random guys on unicycles and the dude playing the violin whilst standing on a ball...Like....WHAT?

Anyways, all this to say, that this masquerade ball feels sooo real and tangible and because of that it blows every other film out of the water, and no, I will not change my mind!!!!!

Here's a few more gifs, bcuz, why the hell not, this scene is sexy as fuu*ck?

Alright I need to go to bed now.

[sci-fi-gifs]

VAN HELSING (2004) dir. Stephen Sommers

[theroseinthedarkness]

Van Helsing (2004) dir. Stephen Sommers

[dailyflicks]

Van Helsing (2004)

[sweeetestcurse]

Van Helsing (2004)

[eliseliedl]

Van Helsing (2004)

[losthavenmine]

Van Helsing (2004)

[georgeromeros]

Van Helsing (2004) dir. Stephen Sommers

[fanfic-she-wrote]

Dating Dracula Would Include:

Long walks beneath the light of a full moon

Which are made all the more romantic on a cold winter’s night as snow falls around you

Dancing to the sound of wolves howling in the distance

Playing with his hair

Lavish gifts, like new clothes or jewelry

He is a Count after all

Getting turned on at the sight of his fangs and how his eyes turn a brilliant shade of blue when he’s about to bite

Neck kisses and the thrill of not knowing whether or not it’s just a kiss or a bite

Of course he would never bite you too hard, just a nibble

Getting to go the annual Masquerade Ball on All Hallow’s Eve proudly as his date

Late night flights through the sky over the Carpathian Mountains

Comforting him after so many failed attempts at bringing his children to life

Napping in his coffin with him, his arms wrapped tightly around you

Many a peasant has looked your way and never lives to look at you again

They often turn out to be Dracula’s next meal

You’re his and his only

And he makes sure you know that often

He’s passionate, dominant and sometimes a bit rough

But you’re always left very satisfied after

Upside down kisses on the ceiling (sometimes Spider-man style)

Listening to his stories of the battles he fought before his death

That’s all I could come up with. If you come up with anything else feel free to add. Hope you like it!

[hawkaye]

RICHARD ROXBURGH as Count Vladislaus Dracula - Van Helsing (2004)

[in-love-with-movies]

Van Helsing (2004)

[megmeg-chan]

Where are you going to run, Victor? Van Helsing 2004 (2/?)

[periodcostumefantasylover]

Dracula dances with Anna Valerious in Van Helsing in 4k

[fed-erratas]

[theconjurervfx]

Van Helsing (2004) dir. Stephen Somers.