The Brides are Dracula's wives and henchwomen in the 2004 movie Van Helsing. They consist of Marishka (Josie Maran), Verona (Silvia Colloca), and Aleera (Elena Anaya). Their main goal is to serve their master, Vladislaus Dracula (Richard Roxburgh), and to bring their children to life. They frequently terrorize villages.
Like Dracula, they are vampires and drink blood. Normally they look like attractive ,beautiful and seductive young women but they are actually centuries-old and have the ability to transform into winged monsters.
In 1887 they accompanied Count Dracula to the Windmill in an attempt to rescue Frankenstein's monster from an angry mob. As the Windmill burned and collapsed, they cried in horror as their only chance of their children's immortal life had just been destroyed.
They are first seen in the film in the form of bats, flying around Anna Valarious and Gabriel Van Helsing.
A year later, shortly after Van Helsing arrived in Transylvania, she and the other brides carried out an attack on a village during daylight in order to surprise the Humans. This was foiled by Van Helsing.
Marishka[]
The sexy and beautiful Marishka
Marishka (Josie Maran) is the middle of the brides and first encounters Van Helsing when the brides attack a nearby village. She seemed to have the upper hand in the fight but makes the mistake of playing with him instead of killing him immediately. She was shot with multiple silver arrows that failed to strike her in the heart.
She later appeared on the room of a home, her wounds healing as she hissed at Van Helsing. When Carl, Van Helsing's close friend alerted him to a small fountain of Holy Water by the church in the village, Marishka smiled and hissed before she lept from the room and rammed into Van Helsing.
She repreatedly threw him into walls, only to bring Van Helsing closer to his crossbow, which he needed to finish her off. Van Helsing broke free and ran to the fountain of Holy Water, dipping his arrows into the water. Finally, he was able to hit the vampiress with several of the soaked arrows. She crashed into the roof of a nearby village home, pegged in place by additional arrows.
The other vampire brides sensed her mortal wounds and made their escape back to Dracula's castle, leaving Marishka gasping and screaming while she slowly disintegrated into mud and ashes. Her bones clattered onto the ground, ending her multiple century-long life. She was the first vampire that Van Helsing killed when he came to Transylvania.
Appearance[]
Marishka is an exceptionally and devastatingly drop dead gorgeous , attractive, lovely, sensual, sublime, glamorous, breathtaking, radiant, elegant, desirable, irresistible and alluring and sexy and beautiful young woman with fair skin and long wavy golden blonde hair with brown eyes. Unlike her sisters who wear dresses , she wore a golden-white outfit that was reminiscent of a belly dancer consisting with a top that exposed her bare midriff and wore fabric pants and she had long flowing golden sleeves attached to her top. The way she dressed possibly hinted her early life as a gypsy. Unlike her sisters , she wore a lot of gold jewellery. When she used her vampire powers , her eyes would match the color of her outfit by glowing gold .
In her vampire bat creature form , her long flowing sleeves change into wings as her clothes are absorbed into her skin. Her wings could be stiff and have the structure of flying but could also drape.
Personality[]
As the middle of Dracula's brides , she is forced to carry out menial tasks such as slaying any opposition that threatens their husband's grand plans to bring their children to life, though she doesn't seem to mind as she loved her husband.
Her past life implied that she was once a dancer due to her flirtatious , carefree attitude which is reflected in her attire. A devilishly clever vixen who uses her beauty as a weapon against all those foolish enough to challenge her , Marishka is the one Bride who should never be underestimated. Notorious for playing with her food before eating it , the vampiress has made countless Transylvanian villagers wish for death long before it arrives.
Marishka Gallery[]
Verona[]
Verona , the most serious Bride
Verona (Silvia Colloca) was the oldest of the three brides.
After retreating to the castle after Marishka's death, Dracula froze himself and his remaining two brides into the wall.
Later, Van Helsing and Anna infiltrated Castle Frankenstein to rescue Prince Velkan. Verona held one of her children in her hand before she flew out with Aleera and the children toward the village. Here they began teaching the young to fee, and Verona grabbed a villager and threw him to her young.
She and Aleera tried to kidnap the Frankenstein Monster from a carriage led by Van Helsing.
During the attack, the carriage fell into a chasm. Van Helsing was able to jump on the horses just prior to falling. Both Verona and Aleera dove into the chasm in an attempt to save the Frankenstein Monster. Aleera had difficulty latting on to the falling carriage, and so broke off to chase after Van Helsing. This left Verona to tackle the monster. She ripped open the door, but instead found dozens of stakes strapped to explosives. The carriage was a decoy, the real carriage was being driven by Anna. Verona attempted to flee, but the carriage hit the bottom and exploded, which sent stakes flying off in all directions and impaling her. She fell to her death in the flames below.
Appearance[]
Verona is an extremely and supremely gorgeous , elegant , exotic, sexy, exquisite, glamorous, sublime, lovely, desirable exquisite and alluring and stunning and beautiful older woman with pale skin and long , straight , smooth black hair. She wears a gothic and Egyptian style elaborate and flowing green vampire bridal gown with yellow shades in the fabric.Her dress was made of pleated silk with a deep plunging bodice neckline front and back of pleated silk embellished with vertical rows of sequins. Alongside the dress was a two-part hanging sleeves attached to bodice only at shoulder top with the upper part of the sleeve in sheer fabric with hand sewn sequins. The lower part of sleeves had pleated silk with vertical rows of sequins and edged with gold sheer ribbon and ties. Verona wore an exotic neck collar around her neck that accompanies her green-white flowing dress that flows past her waist.
During the course of the story, Verona transforms from a fully gowned woman to a flying harpy-like Bat Creature. Her long flowing sleeves change into wings as her clothes are absorbed into her skin. Verona's wings could be stiff and have the structure of flying but could also drape.
Personality[]
Given Verona's elegant yet commanding demeanor, it is suggested she is of noble blood, possibly royalty. Verona is the eldest of the three Brides, making her the first vampire Dracula turned, in that she is seen ordering the other two about with condescending tones, and threatening facial expressions. Despite the way she treats Marishka and Aleera, she states that she loves them very much. Verona is entirely loyal to her master, serving as his consort, eager to please him by any means necessary, though she isn't above disagreeing with him, much to his immense displeasure. She wishes nothing more than to have her children be given the key to life which is accomplished through Frankenstein's creation.
The oldest and most worldly of the Brides, Verona has fought for centuries to rid the world of all those who stand in the way of her husband Dracula's sinister plan. As beautiful, as she is deadly, the bloodthirsty Verona is Dracula's second-in-command both on the ground and in the sky.
Trivia[]
- Silvia Colloca appeared as Carmilla the Vampire Queen in the 2009 British comedy film "Lesbian Vampire Killers".
Verona Gallery[]
Aleera[]
Aleera , about to slap Anna in anger.
Aleera (Elena Anaya) was the youngest of the three brides and the most loyal.
Aleera seemed to have a personal feud with Anna, Van Helsing's lover. After Verona's death she kidnaped Anna and demanded Frankenstein's monster as ransom.
Frankenstein's monster managed to kick Aleera from reaching Anna. Later, Frankenstein tried to hold Aleera off as Anna escaped. However, Aleera somehow escaped from Frankentein's grip and proceeded to pursue Anna once again.
In the final battle of the film, Aleera encountered Anna again and almost managed to kill her. She taunted Anna by saying how her blood would keep her beautiful, but suddenly threw a stake to Anna, which she uses to impale Aleera. Aleera gasped in surprise and started shrieking in agony as her body appeared to be boiling. Aleera swelled up until she finally exploded. Anna then remarked to Aleera that if the villainess intended to kill someone, she should have done it quicker rather than boasting about it.
Appearance[]
Aleera has the appearance of an ridiculously and incredibly fair, sexy, lovely, radiant, graceful, elegant, exquisite, glamorous, sublime, desirable, irresistible, alluring and exotic and attractive and beautiful young woman with red auburn copper hair . She wears a pink vampire bride wedding dress with long sleeves and an opening in the chest revealing her ample cleavage. The design has an opening midriff with bedazzle body art adorning the middle of her stomach. Her white-pink dress is long and flowing.
In her vampire bat creature form , she has notable changes. Instead of having her glowing , luminescent skin , she has ashen white skin with sunken eyes and bluish lips. She has giant bat wings for flying , her feet and hands bear talons , with extra joints in her legs and more muscle definition . She still maintains her hair like her sisters in this transformation. Like her sisters , she has eyes that can glow at will. Her eyes glow in a fluorescent lavender hue.
She bore an intricate hairstyle with a top knot in her first major appearance, but in appearances after Marishka's death, her hair was let down in a more simplistic style, like that of Marishka - possibly her way of mourning her fellow bride.
Personality[]
Noticeably, among all the Brides , Aleera was the one who respected her husband the most , openly addressing him as "Master" and "Lord" when talking about him. She loved him deeply and was insanely jealous of anyone who would dare compete against her to win his affections.
She was immensely loyal to her husband , often obsessed with his plan of bringing their dead children to life and willing to destroy any threat to his plans .
She was the deadliest and most vicious of the Brides. Obsessed with her merciless pursuit of Princess Anna , Aleera would stop at nothing to kill her and end the Valerious bloodline .
Aleera Gallery[]
Powers and Abilities[]
Immortality: Like all vampires, the Brides are immortal so long as they feed on human blood. This is the reason why , despite being centuries-old , they still remain the same age they were when they were turned and do not age.
Superhuman strength :The Brides have shown to demonstate remarkable physical strength than that of a normal human , despite their physical stature. They have been shown to be strong enough to lift cattle and throw them into a nearby house, as well as hit a human and send them flying several feet into the air
Superhuman Durability: Like their master and husband, the brides can withstand a lot of physical abuse. However, their durability can't protect them against weapons holy in nature
Superhuman Healing: Like all Vampires, the brides have the ability to regenerate lost and damaged tissue.
Vampire Demon Form : Like Dracula himself, the brides can turn into their demonic forms, gaining a boost to their physical powers as well as the ability to fly, the only difference between the forms of Dracula and the brides is that the brides' forms are more human(ish).
Walking on ceilings : Like all vampires , the Brides can walk on ceilings.
Levitation : The Brides are able to float from a ceiling to reach the ground.
Teleportation : The Brides are able to teleport from one place to another.
Flight : Like all vampires , the brides can fly .
Vampire Infection : It is assumed that since they are vampires, like Dracula , they can turn humans into vampires.
Super Speed: Brides possess incredibly enhanced speed, Aleera can spin as fast as a tornado blowing out all the torches in the area.
Senses : Their senses are heightened and they may have night vision. They may also , like Aleera, see a human's beating heart or flowing blood.
Jaw splitting : It is assumed that like Aleera , her sisters can split their jaw in 3 mandibles.
Weaknesses[]
Holy Water : They are vulnerable to holy water.
Silver : They are vulnerable to silver.
Sunlight : They're vulnerable to sunlight.
Staking : They are vulnerable to being staked in the heart.
Crucifix : They can't tolerate the cross.