Van Helsing (film) Van Helsing (film) Van Helsing is a 2004 American horror film written and directed by Stephen Sommers. It stars Hugh Jackman as vigilante monster hunter Van Helsing, and Kate Beckinsale as Anna Valerious. The film is an homage and tribute to the Universal Horror Monster films from the 1930s and '40s (also produced by Universal Studios which were in turn based on novels by Bram Stoker and Mary Shelley), of which Sommers is a fan. The eponymous character was inspired by the Dutch vampire hunter Abraham Van Helsing from Irish author Bram Stoker's novel "Dracula". Distributed by Universal Pictures, the
Daniel Kraus (author) Daniel Kraus (author) Daniel Kraus is an American author. Kraus was born in Midland, Michigan and grew up in Iowa. In 2009, Kraus published his first novel, "The Monster Variations". This book was included on the New York Public Library’s “100 Best Stuff for Teens” list in 2010. His second novel, "Rotters", was published in 2011, and won the 2012 Odyssey Award, the Parents' Choice Award Gold Award and was a finalist for the Bram Stoker Award. It was also chosen as Booklist Editors’ Choice for 2012 and was included on the Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books Blue