Editorials
‘Hellsing Ultimate’: The Great Nightmare That Is Alucard [Anime Horrors]
Welcome back to Anime Horrors – a column dedicated to exploring new and classic works of anime and manga.
A good anime protagonist excites us, while a great one makes us feel. Think Goku of Dragon Ball or Serena of Sailor Moon – each fight for justice, care deeply for their companions, and offer an air of inspiration. Anti-heroes offer similar elements, while bringing some moral complexity into the mix. Their overall efforts are geared towards justice, but they also don’t mind getting their hands dirty. Personally, I find that anti-heroes allow for unique storytelling; it is interesting to see the impact they have on the world and the characters around them. I’ve come to enjoy several of these characters throughout anime. But in all the shows I’ve ever seen, no character gives me chills like Alucard.
As the central character to Hellsing, Alucard is a vampire assassin that serves the titular organization. For the uninitiated, Hellsing exists to fight off the enemies of the dark – ghouls, vampires, and other supernatural threats. Though the organization has various tools and other agents to assist in battle, Alucard is their ace. He is pure devastation; while there are several anime characters who exude tremendous strength, very few come close to Alucard’s terrifying being. So, for this month’s installment of Anime Horrors, I want to examine and speak to what makes Alucard so nightmarish.
Please note: for those familiar and not familiar with Hellsing, I will be referring to Alucard as he is depicted in the OVA, Hellsing Ultimate (since that is my favorite way to watch the show). Minor spoilers are present in the form of character abilities and brief story elements.
When we first meet Alucard, he is chained up in a basement. It is only when the heir of the Hellsing Organization is attacked, her blood spilling onto him, that he awakens. With his consciousness intact, he tears into the assailants going after the young girl, bowing down to her afterwards and stating his allegiance. Given his extraordinary strength, Alucard is loyal to his master, biding by her command – but don’t mistake that for a dog on its leash. She is fully aware of how strong he is and trusts him with no doubt in battle.
Hellsing Ultimate does a profound job capturing the ferocity of Alucard’s combat. The manga artwork is already stunning in its detail, but Ultimate brings to life all the bloodshed. Bodies jumping about, limbs falling apart, weapons clashing – it’s delightfully chaotic. While the dramatic elements of the show are entertaining, the big appeal are the battles. Whether it is Alucard tearing into human baddies or supernatural ones, the viewer can always expect carnage.
As a vampire, he has several qualities. His physical talents are remarkable, his fists being able to slice through bodies, his speed faster than the human eye can follow. Other supernatural gifts come in the form of regeneration and the power to summon familiars. These familiars can be demons or defeated enemies whose souls he has taken. And to cap things off, he is equipped with two pistols (each loaded with rounds that leave immense holes in their victims).
Alucard’s skills rank him high among the bad ass characters in anime. When it comes to comparing him against his opponent, it’s like comparing a mountain to a mole hill. And this difference makes for one of the most interesting aspects to his character; for while it’s cool to see him unleash all kinds of dark magic and attacks, it is equally as intriguing to see the emotional and psychological impact he has on his foes.
Think of a time you watched one of your favorite anime heroes go up against a truly menacing villain. Consider how the hero felt in that moment – the stress and fear surging through them. Intense power levels have been a means of creating excitement and suspense throughout anime for decades. Typically, the villain will level up, instill fear, then beat up the good guys for a time (until the central protagonist or a specific character comes along and levels up beyond the bad guy). In Hellsing however, this concept is turned on its head, with Alucard proving to be a horrifying confrontation for his antagonists. Episode two has one of the best fights that highlights this.
A force of ghouls, led by two men, invade the Hellsing headquarters. One of the men, Luke Valentine, makes his way into the headquarters and seeks out Alucard. He eventually finds him in one of the building’s lower levels. Luke shares how he has been modified to not only match Alucard, but to exceed his strength. After words are exchanged, the two draw out their pistols, each shooting the other in the head. After some brief silence, the two begin laughing. Luke jumps about the room shooting at Alucard. As blood spews from his body, his head dropping back, Alucard continues pulling his pistol trigger, his face wearing a haunting expression of joy. At this point in the story, the viewer is aware of how powerful Alucard is – that said, it is what comes next that really amps things up.
After several rounds of gunfire, Alucard gets up and addresses how interested he is in Luke. He states how he wants to see more and acknowledges his talents. He then begins uttering an incantation of sorts that will increase his power. However, this isn’t as straightforward as an increase – it’s the fact that he is unlocking a restriction placed on him. This guy is so friggin’ strong that he has restrictions on how much of his dark magic he can use. With new abilities available to him, he overwhelms Luke, tearing off his legs. As Luke strives to scramble away, Alucard screams out for him to regenerate and fight back. Luke won’t though, for he knows there is no hope.
Coming up against Alucard is like staring into the eyes of an existential threat. No matter how hard one pushes, no matter how long they last in combat, they are never going to exceed what Alucard is capable of. His presence has the means to shake one’s core. There are several occasions where a supernatural being will come Alucard’s way and threaten him. Against any other individual, these beings would be a real challenge – but to Alucard – they are bugs. To see these bad guys walk in all sure of themselves, to then drop to their knees in horror, is brilliant and chilling.
Outside of battle, and for lack of a better word, Alucard is chill; not friendly exactly, but relaxed. It is only when things heat up with a foe that his mannerisms rise to aggressive heights. When it comes to his bloodthirst and excitement for an adversary, his movements hit like a strike of lighting. In a sense, Alucard is like a mutated Shonen protagonist who loves battle. For him, combat is very much a sport. It excites him to go up against someone who can deliver immense blows and push him. It is as if he wants to know he can get close to death.
The shock that comes over characters when facing Alucard is an element I absolutely love about the show. It not only makes for awesome deliveries of drama, but it also sells how frightening he is. There is saying a character should be feared, and then there is having their actions establish a reason to fear them. Alucard is a presence that not only scares humans, but supernatural beings as well.
Talking about Alucard’s terrifying presence is one thing, but seeing it is a whole other thing. If your interest is piqued by what I’ve shared, and you’ve never seen the show, then I encourage you to check out Hellsing Ultimate. The series takes place over 10 episodes. The original anime and manga are solid as well, but Ultimate’s animation and direction are incredible. You can find Ultimate on Hulu and Funimation at the time of this writing.
Battle is an easy, yet effective way to display how bad ass a character is. Having a protagonist use a few iconic moves and deliver some speedy punches creates the sensation that they are a force to be reckoned with. Then there are characters that make us feel – and not in the cozy inspirational sense – but in a cold, tense, and unnerving way. Alucard is a being who does not just live in darkness, but who exudes it and casts it upon his enemies. The fights throughout Hellsing are nothing short of astounding, and yet, it is those quiet moments of an enemy’s defeat that offer a sensation like no other; witnessing these characters look upon a being of extraordinary skill, knowing that annihilation is upon them.
In their last moments, they realize they are facing a monster like no other.
College kids, strippers and vampires—those were Donald P. Borchers’ only requirements when he approached Richard Wenk about writing and directing a movie for New World Pictures. As requested, Wenk cooked up Vamp (1986), a tailor-made blend of the decade’s teen movie craze as well as its horror boom.
Grim and earnest stories were still very much a part of the ’80s horror landscape, yet Vamp is something of a comedy. One difference between it and, say, Saturday the 14th, though, is the former avoids using schtick. Wenk’s movie proves that horror comedies also don’t have to subtract thrills from their recipes. Of course, it takes a minute before reaching that point; college antics and culture shocks preface this one macabre misadventure.
Vamp‘s initial setup is apt for a typical college-set, sex-driven comedy; to bribe their way into a fraternity house, two pledges (Chris Makepeace, Robert Rusler) go looking for some adult entertainment. Without wasting time on any further exposition, the characters embark on an all-in-one-night trip that quickly detours into terror.
To procure their elusive MacGuffin—a stripper willing to gyrate for some frat boys—Keith (Makepeace) and AJ (Rusler), plus a third wheel named Duncan (Gedee Watanabe), trade the safety of their remote college campus for the seediness of some unnamed city. The setting is recognizably L.A. by day, but as soon as night falls, downtown, along with the characters, slips into a kind of surreal universe. Director of photography Elliot Davis gave this early entry on his prolific résumé an unusual yet distinctive look; that Mario Bava-esque, magenta-green lighting is omnipresent, so much so that it’s almost its own character.
Chris Makepeace and Robert Rusler in Vamp
The faint comparisons to Martin Scorsese’s After Hours are merited, although not just because of Vamp’s distinguishing nighttime aesthetic. Save for the primary characters, the supporting roles in Wenk’s movie are also quite colorful and transactional in their behavior. The difference here, though, is the additional urge to ruin Keith and his friends at every turn. Some of that harm is humorous and tolerable enough, whereas the moment Vamp dishes out its first fatality, it’s abundantly clear how this movie qualifies as horror.
Vamp falls into that category of horror movie that reveals its genre with a scream rather than a series of whispers. The opening scene can function as a hint of what lies ahead—things are not at all what they appear to be—but otherwise, Wenk is more than happy to hold off on the horror. When that time does come, though, it catches the viewer off guard. In addition to the pure shock value is that sudden decision to upend the movie’s foremost feature. Or so it would seem.
If afraid of major spoilage, those new to Vamp would be wise to stop reading here. There’s just no skirting around the fact that the central fellowship in this buddy movie hits a serious snag when AJ is killed. That development causes the story to become more of a “long, bad night” journey for Keith and his romantic interest. So while Wenk scores points for subverting expectations, there is also a touch of sadness in his decision. Because if Vamp does anything well, it’s making the characters likable.
Something that comes easily to Vamp—and other teen horror movies from this same era—is its ability to invent young characters worth caring about, or at the very least, are interesting and not so immediately off-putting. More impressive is how Wenk did all this without actually fleshing out those characters. Still and all, Keith and his kind are a grade above cookie-cutter, and in some cases, aren’t completely devoid of growth.
Grace Jones in Vamp
Vamp appeals with an assorted cast of characters. No two are the same, nor are they operating on the same wavelength. The cinematically extroverted AJ, whose actor conveyed charm and vulnerability in near equal amounts, comes alive when he’s at his most undead. Makepeace then makes the chronically cautious Keith a sympathetic fellow, even as he’s more and more affected by the night’s bizarre events. Meanwhile, Duncan is indeed the designated loser of the whole bunch, but Watanabe still manages to humanize him. As a bonus, the role didn’t require him to pull a Long Duk Dong.
As for Dedee Pfeiffer, she is plain adorable as the mysterious After Dark server nicknamed “Amaretto”. She spends all night fixing her dress strap while at the same time trying to get Keith to remember how he knows her. As their offbeat romance grows, it becomes another highlight of this movie. Whether or not Pfeiffer’s character is really a vampire also creates some welcome tension in the story.
Like a lot of its contemporaries, Vamp went on to become a bit of a cult classic. That current status is determined by several factors, but without a doubt, the casting of Grace Jones is the most considerable. The image of her writhing on that unique-looking chair, a Keith Haring original, springs to mind whenever this movie is brought up.
Chris Makepeace, Billy Drago and Paunita Nichols in Vamp
Prior to that first display of unequivocal horror, local vampire queen Katrina (Jones) took to the stage and delivered a strip show like no other. One would expect nothing less from that renowned model and performance artist. By now reports of Jones’ tardiness on set are no secret, yet it’s also hard to deny her commitment to the part of Katrina. It was, in fact, Jones who took charge of her character’s appearance—on top of Haring painting her body and that now-iconic chair, she had Andy Warhol handle her costuming. And not too many actors could seize a room’s attention without saying a single line of dialogue.
In 2022, Vamp received a retrospective novelization from Encyclopocalypse. This literary union of preexisting source material—Wenk’s original screenplay—and new ideas from author Christian Francis amounts to a more comprehensive visit to the After Dark Club. The basic story there is no different than what’s shown on screen; however, Francis gets creative with the characters’ origins and designs, and he enhances a number of key scenes.
The novelization expands on the urban and social decay of the main setting, and supplies a background for the After Dark Club. Sandy Baron’s character, Katrina’s emcee and familiar, is given ample motivation for sticking around; up until the fiery end, he is loyal to his friend and former business partner “Squeak”, who looks like he was “fed through a combine harvester, and left as nothing more than a heap of mangled remains”. Then there is Billy Drago’s character Snow, the leader of a street gang called The Dragons. His reason for menacing Keith and AJ is more altruistic than in the movie; he and his peers act tough to scare off any potential food for the vampires.
Lisa Lyon in Vamp
If not for all the backstories, Francis’ Vamp would be a hell of a lot shorter. Instead, this tie-in read dives into how AJ met Keith—the orphaned Anthony Joseph hailed from a broken home back in Brooklyn—and how their friendship flourished over the years. Keith’s archership is no longer just an assumed part of his entire being; it’s a confidence-building extracurricular for a boy who got picked on before coming into the protection of the new kid in town. These supplemental, in-depth looks at the protagonists, plus their close connection, are maybe unnecessary. The movie already did a fair and concise job of addressing their platonic intimacy without the need for flashbacks and insights, specifically in that scene where AJ lays it all out as he sacrifices himself.
Where the novelization gets off course is its approach to the minor characters. Intermittently backstorying the likes of Katrina’s indentured servants, Seko (Leila Hee Olsen) and Vlad (Brad Logan), ends up disturbing the flow of the writing. Was it absolutely essential that readers know Vlad was the Grand Duke of the House of Romanov, or how Snow’s accomplice Maven (Paunita Nichols) became so dentally challenged? No, not really. However, one’s mileage with these random biographies may vary.
The novelization is a more substantial experience, but for a movie like Vamp, less is more. And as plentiful as they are, it never simply coasts on its campy charms, either. The character work sits comfortably in that realm between cursory and meticulous, the script is sharper than first realized, and Greg Cannom’s vampire makeup is straightforward yet effective. Most of all, the movie didn’t squander its out-of-the-box concept. Richard Wenk made his vision of a “comic nightmare in which just about anything that can go wrong does” come true, and it is very enjoyable.
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