LOVE this show! Van Helsing rocks.
People who appreciate watching shows like 30 Days of Night, Alien(s), The Walking Dead and Mad Max, will appreciate the dark, post apocalyptic vampire world of Van Helsing the series.
The stylistically eerie cinematography in the first episode plays on the sense of isolation and the constant ominous.
Jonathan Scarfe is a solid actor in the role of Axel being tough and cool. Kelly Overton who is Vanessa Helsing is noted to have drawn inspiration from Sigourney Weaver's Ripley in Alien(s), completely committing to the role. Two lead actors I'm looking forward to seeing more of in this series.
Vanessa being awoken and suddenly being put into survival mode, very primal and raw. When is the last time you saw a main character go from 0-10 in energy as an introduction to the main character. Vanessa through the series will be challenged to go places within herself that she didn't have a choice in. All reaction. It takes a special kind of actor to play that shift in emotion.
The actor playing Ted (Tim Guinee) is rather good too, enjoyed his performance, and the actor who was the bloody mess (Vincent Gale) near the end was fantastic as well. I know we are going to see some amazing, creepy, main vampire characters introduced in the next few episodes, and this clouded dark world outside, what is out there waiting.
Great tension in story and how it's branching out. Neil Labute heading this series, is kind of like Jim Morrison of The Doors, he knows how to get everybody in, and once you're in, nobody here gets out alive. The entire team of writers will bring the brutal world of the vampire rising, all the different types of vamps and characters.
Giving this a 10/10 for the enjoyment I got out of watching the episode, I'm hooked and want to see more. SyFy will have a standout winner with this, definitely see a fan base taking over.
Van Helsing, paying respect to a classic bloodline in an updated time. A new age of darkness has begun...