I really enjoyed the first two seasons and even.enjoyed season 3 but it went sideways and gave us practically a whole new cast by seasons 4 and 5. It was hard to watch but I kept thinking it would get back to why I enjoyed it in the first place. So disappointed in this series and where the chose to take it. Seasons 1 and 2 - I rated 8 then changed rating to a 7 after season 3. Now I'm at a 5.
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emccullywhite16 May 2021
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kdowney-4786726 September 2018Pros: 1. The storyline is pretty good.
Cons: 1. The acting is "C" at best. 2. The script is waaaay overwritten. The characters do not talk like normal people and especially not like people in a vampire apocalypse. 3. Makeup is not very good. 4. Very obvious that this was not a high-budget series.
Even though the cons outweigh the pros, I am still watching this. I can't explain why, maybe I'm hoping it will get better. -
CyricTheCynic16 November 2020This show is all over the place in terms of writing and tone. It starts out fairly grounded: a group of survivors have to make tough decisions to make it in a vampire-infested post apocalypse. The characters are interesting for the most part, although the main character Vanessa is by far the least likeable, though she gets a bit better by season 3/4. The show has a lot of good practical gore effects as well, although I think in the universe of Van Helsing people don't have spines because it is RIDICULOUSLY easy to cut off someone's head in this show, lol.
The show started to lose me in seasons 3/4, however. It seems like the show got more of a budget for season 4 so they started using more bad CGI and adding pointless side locations and characters for no real reason other than because they could. Also, after all the build up of the Dark One, when you actually see it, it is soooo underwhelming. The vampires in the first two seasons (Dimitri and Aleera) were far more terrifying than the campy ones that are in the later seasons. There's a lot more tension in general in the first two seasons, by the second season you're pretty much never worried about the main characters for reasons which will become apparent if you watch. Also, the show just basically replaces the two main characters with younger versions in season 4 because why not?
As for if I'd recommend it, maybe watch the first season a bit. If you like the main characters then maybe give it a go, if not I wouldn't bother. -
1. It began as a show about vampires.
2. In this show about vampires there was a woman who could cure the vampires.
3. Efforts were made to make a cure to end the vampires.
4. It all made sense... mostly. It was about saving the world.
The bad things:
Magic... The Screaming... oh the screaming... Good GOD the screaming!
Why did the Dark One hate the humans/her food so much?
Why go through all of that effort? What were the things that the vampires enjoyed, that made them go through such efforts to achieve it?
One side was fighting for survival, the other was just "Meh, lets kill them".
Season 5, episode 13 - No closure for some main characters.
Imagine sticking with this series since it began, hoping for a somewhat alright ending and then for it to end the way it did.
Worth watching, but the end kind of leaves a bad taste in your mouth. -
Even though I didn't really like the first episode(s) I decided to give it the benefit of the doubt. Of course it's not a top rated series but for SYFY standards it actually gets pretty interesting as soon as the character roles start evolving. I wrote this since the last couple of episodes really got my attention.
If you don't like series in apocalyptic settings, skip this. If you keep in mind that the budget for this was A LOT less than for the top rated series.. you might actually appreciate it.
Final judgment: The acting gets better The whole 'feral vampire' thing is kind of overdone. I think more people are annoying by the stupidity (and constant growling) of the vampires. The story line gets interesting so curiosity about what will happen next will make up it.
If you already finished the better series out there and like the setting of this story, it's worth watching. -
Evolved_One11 February 2020It's amazing, how this series flops. Originally I gave it a six as it was sort of fun to watch. Way too high rating.
First you have super trained and powered Van Helsings and other persons who can fight anything and everything, but 2 seconds later or during the next episode they are totally helpless and can't even take a gun off from old granny. The same people heal from gunshots almost immediately but can't do anything to a soldier with a stun baton ;D
Poorly written, total waste of time starting from the 4th season. Just watch 4th season and 10th episode and you hope you'd never started to watch this series. It just makes you angry. And the fight scenes.. where's the choreography? yep, it literally doesn't exist. Choreographer was probably having a day, week, month or a year off. -
kristinakay-4856228 September 2020I would give this show 8, but season 4 killed that. It had a really good story, but then political noise overpowered the storyline. I'm 100 percent female, and believe in equality. However, it's overboard in real life as it is, I don't want the nonsense polluting my shows I watch for FUN. Van Helsing stopped being fun when it started being an all women should be heroes crap. Other than that, it's not horrible. Just not as good as it could be.
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lnking-2318031 May 2021I used to like this show as it was a different take on the VanHesing characte. But with out Kelly Overton the show has gotten so weak that it no longer stands up. The loss of the lead character in this case should have been it's end but I guess they'll milk it for all it's worth. As I said time to go.
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patriciamassiwer21 November 2016Give it a chance....Yes if you watch only a couple of episodes you might say, "eh, can take it or leave it". However I like to put in at least a few episodes to see if a new show develops. Many now popular shows started out slow. Even the huge hit, Seinfeld was iffy the whole first season. In fact they didn't have their breakout season until season 4. It's a shame that shows are chopped so quickly these days. Sometimes it takes a few episodes to even start developing characters. I recommend just watching at least to episode 8. By then, you will see the characters are finally developing and there are also a few surprises. Now at episode 10, it's practically a different show. Hopefully you will give it a chance too and then by episode 10 you will know for sure if you like it. For me, it's a show I look forward to and I am hoping this will develop into something even better!
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limey_pete5 November 2016The trick to watching certain genres in film is not to expect too much. You watch Van Damm or Schwarzenegger, you don't expect much. The Mechanic was entertaining, but it wasn't George III, right? It isn't reasonable to expect a TV show to be more than what it is. That's the case with Van Helsing. It is what it is: a SYFY channel original program with probably not the biggest budget in the world. Almost every TV show is rocky in the first season. It takes awhile for everything to shake down. Van Helsing is shaking okay. I watch it weekly, love the characters, and it's always a treat watching Christopher Heyerdahl. So hang in, be patient, give the show a chance. I think Season 2 will be much better. And besides, I'm interested to see the evolution of everything in this particular post-apocalyptic world, including when and how Vanessa becomes aware of who - and what - she is.
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This show has a great premise, but only enough storyline for two seasons, the last three were trash. The vampires read more like zombies and the show goes to witchcraft and time travel and it's all too ridiculous. Main characters are decently acted. Lots of subplots that add nothing and serve only to waste time.
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pickwick_boudje30 January 2017Hi,
I'm another of those "I made an account to write this review" people. Why? Because I see a decent horror TV series getting bashed into oblivion for the wrong reasons and by the wrong people.
This series needs a few episodes to understand it's direction. I've seen just plain dumb and wrong conclusions about the vampires and characters because people don't give this series more then 1 or 2 episodes (which ARE very average indeed).
Let me set some things right here:
-The vampires are NOT dumb homeless people who run and bite. They have several layers of society, ranging from dumb ferals to ancient old vampires who resemble the more known vampire monsters.
About the ferals; I have never seen better acting in a zombie/vampire flick. Some of these actors are godlike portraiting feral vampires. They deserve respect instead of these shallow "reviews" by people who cling to original story lines and monsters.
I won't say give this show a chance, I'm saying that you have to look past the dirty, shallow, nerdy reviews it has been getting.
This is my guilty pleasure next to TWD, and there is no better for me. -
davidgibson-1922423 June 2021Seasons one and two were pretty good but it goes downhill after that. Season 5 is barely watchable with actors often literally standing around delivering poorly written lines. Over all, don't bother.
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jonaslundstrom8 February 2020Very good first season, but in the second season van helsing is acting ridicolous to every situation. She goes from "you're one of the few people I can trust in this world" to "I don't care about you enough to even try to help you". All this withuut the other character doing wrong.
This was just a small example, she keeps making decisions like she's a 11 year old child, just going against everyone, not explaining anything, just because she's the strong main character. Very unsatisfactory to see such bad writing since first season was well written. -
linoschwenke24 July 2021The overacting, particularly Jack and Violet, was painful to watch. Cringe worthy at times. It was just too much and ruined season 4 for me.
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kawiering5 October 2022I slowly watched through this show over the last 6 years. You'll know if you're going to watch this show through in the first episode. Definitely not for young minds.
I Started on the syfy app, then waited for the finale season on Netflix. Covid in between one of the seasons. I think the 4th season was the first series back in production after covid. Ironic that the vampire apocalypse in modern times mirrored the covid outbreak a little too closely.
That said. There are different flavors to the seasons. The show drastically changed at the end of season 3. The first three seasons were definitely heavier on the dark themes and gore. The last two weren't so much. The last two seasons fell heavily to social agendas in blatantly obvious ways. Season 5 brought in some of the cheesiest flavors of Hollywood patriotism. (Definitely a "you tried" vibe at that point).
It was entertaining in a dark way. I wasn't entirely disappointed by the ending. Kind of knew where it was going from a mile away. The show had jumped the shark in Colorado.
I wouldn't ever watch it again, but hey, maybe a spinoff if the creators ever venture to the same universe. -
saket-ith15 September 2018I have just finished season 2 and my review is based on that.
First season, awful. Don't get disappointed, it gets better and has potential I think. While watching season 1 it felt like watching a bad version of walking dead. But what walking dead lacks, van helsing tried to capture. A story moving somewhere. I am not bad mouthing walking dead, but I got so irritated with it's repetitive storyline I dropped it. Yes I dropped it in the middle. In the beginning of van helsing, I thought another wanna be walking dead. To be honest I wasn't even watching it, it was just running in the background. But by the end of season 2 it got my attention. It looks like story is going somewhere. It's not like walking dead season after season running around and blah blah.
Anyway, a lot depends on the audience. If you are into vampire shows and movies like twilight or vampire diaries, this show is not for you. But if you are one of those who enjoyed Underworld movies or the strain, give it a try. Things get interesting by the end of season 2.
Based on season 1 I would have hated it under 5, but season 2 influenced me to rate it at least 8. -
snowyprecipice29 December 2016This honestly isn't as bad as the ratings indicate. I enjoyed most of it, save for the last episode. Axel wasn't the generic good guy who wants to save everyone; yes he wants to protect his group and he isn't afraid to kill people to do it, man or woman. He's not stupid enough to try and save everyone, and he had good plans. He was the best character in there until the freaking doctor left him to die (well, that in itself wasn't a cliché, which is good).
Vanessa is /okay/ as the MC. She's a bit generic but at least she's not that stupid.
You know what was stupid? the last episode. Why didn't that white- haired dude (the one Vanessa turned back to human in the first few episodes) point out to the group about to attack the citadel, that they HAVE to save Vanessa?
I mean, she's the key to ending this whole vampire situation. It's so dumb that anyone would even want to kill her.
The last episode wasn't so great but I'll still watch the next season. They better make Axel come back in a good way. I don't want any Vanessa vs Axel nonsense. -
floroslabros11 June 2021I have seen a lot of bad shows and I power through them cause I always like to finish what I start. This is impossible with this show, the writing, the characters and the decision making of those characters is completely and utterly stupid... there is no other way to describe it , its so cringe it will mentally hurt you.
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This show is quite enjoyable, especially because it doesn't take itself too seriously, like it quite often does happen to the big budget ones. I personally like the acting and the characters and wouldn't really change much about it. If more people would watch it, more people would like it. just like with any other show, while only the picky dicks are around you get bad reviews but when people start watching just for the fun of it. The characters are actually very interesting and well thought through. Its innovative especially in that respect and this makes it very enjoyable. Im looking forward to every episode, having a great time watching it
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abbagadol13 November 2017Too many Nit Picking cry babies who think they are the know it all purests on Vampires. This at least gives a modern day more realistic view on Vampires and not have them all turning into bats and are more like fallible people looking for imortality but some quit watching too earlyto get any real story. For its budget if online is correct than theymight have written a little better scripts in some areas but by end of season binge watching i want to see i Where it goes. It was a tiny bit predictable but i see that on every channel and movie. It is decent SyFi. No need to pick it to death especially if you did not continue watching. Perhaps the "Ancients" have developed or evolved more abilities and that makes sense so lets see where it goes.
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This is never going to win any awards however i found season 1 & 2 watchable although season three completely bombed. When the actors/actresses who themselves are not particularly great start directing episodes then there is only one direction this show is going, combine this with the introduction of the two young actresses who portray the daughters who can't act to save their lives then this show is dead.
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Jerseycarp17 March 2018Anyone who rated this 1 star probably never gave it a chance, or thought this would be exactly like some other Van Helsing story or show. Its not and that's what makes this show special. 1 Star should only be reserved for low budget, b style productions. This is clearly a 5-10 Star show depending if it's your style or not. 1 Star ratings are for haters, the movie "showgirls" isn't even a 1, and that was a train wreck. Give it a chance, there are many talented people working on this show. People who produce great sci-fi content. If you enjoyed watching Stargate Atlantis and The Walking Dead like me, this show will satisfy you I promise. I would rate this show at a 7-8 Star, but with all the ridiculous 1 stars I graded it higher. You know, to cancel out all the haters.
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namob-4367325 November 2023This is not so bad as some seem to make it out to be. There a few compelling characters, there some redeeming traits, and the storyline is pretty good. I also like that the show do not shy away from hard topics and can be pretty gruesome at times.
With that said however there are too many bad actors, and the cinematography is severely lacking. The budget for this show cannot have been very high. And the story which is good for the most part, fails enough times (mainly because of bad acting) to make it a chore to watch.
The longer I watch the more this feels like a bad ripoff of the Walking Dead. I also have the feeling we are close to soap opera territory. The show is also weirdly political at times, which I fail to see the reason for. The show-runners really wanted a girl power sort of soap/ripoff but to pull that off one needs a better script and better actors.
I still think the show is watchable, at least up to season 4 which take the bad I mentioned above and amplifies it.
I give this a generous 6/10. If you have absolutely nothing else to watch, perhaps you can give this a try. You can definitely do worse. -
dewo9617 April 2021First episode got my curiosity, but as I continue my excitement dwindeled down... I Watched it up to S01E09.. could find the strength to continue.
This Show is just lacking the gritty dark drama I was looking for (like Dark, Stanger Things, Mindhunter), I mean This Show had a solid premise, twisting and adapting the Van Helsing Story to Modern day Apocalypse, it really intrigue me at the beginning, but along the way it did not focus an the main story, too much side story that is unimportant and more often boring. Feels like I was watching 90's tv show (buffy the vampire slayer, beauty and the beast, etc)