Redeemed villainess Ericka Van Helsing
Ericka Van Helsing (Kathryn Hahn) is the redeemed villainess from 2018's Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation. She was introduced as Captain Ericka, the captain of a cruise ship that was setting sail from the Bermuda Triangle to the lost city of Atlantis. The cruise was Mavis' surprise for her father, Dracula, as she felt that he (as well as the other monsters) needed to get away from the hotel. Dracula's original disdain for the cruise was gone when he first saw Ericka, as he quickly fell in love with her. Ericka displayed a charming demeanor in her welcome to the monsters attending the cruise, but as revealed later on, the cruise was a trap.
As it turned out, Ericka is the great-granddaughter of monster hunter Abraham Van Helsing, who had spent years hunting down Dracula, only to constantly fail. Her reveal came when she walked down a secret corridor and later appeared to addressing a framed photo of Abraham, agreeing with his sentiment about monsters being disgusting. In a twist, Abraham was revealed to be alive and still carrying his 100+ year long obsession with taking down Dracula--so much so that he replaced most of his failing body with machine parts. The cruise to Atlantis was part of Abraham's plan to gain the "ultimate weapon," which could be used to destroy all monsters, though Ericka was impatient and wanted to kill Dracula when she had the chance.
Abraham made Ericka promise that she wouldn't kill Dracula before they reach Atlantis, but despite this, the obsessed villainess made several attempts shortly afterwards, with all of them missing Dracula and hitting Blobby, who survived all of them. She made another attempt during the monsters' scuba diving venture, only to fail again and nearly end up caught when Dracula posed for a photo with the fish-shaped ship she was in. Ericka's frustrations over her attempts towards Dracula were overheard by Frank, Griffin, and Murray, who all believed that she was speaking about wanting to go out with Dracula. Knowing that Dracula's sweet on Ericka, his friends urged him to go out with her.
All the while, Ericka overheard the group and quickly agreed to the date, using this as an opportunity to kill Dracula. Her latest attempt was lacing guacamole with garlic oil, knowing full well that garlic is lethal to vampires, only for the garlic to only give Dracula gas. As the date progressed, Dracula revealed to Ericka that it was his first date since the death of his wife, Martha, a century ago, and it was at that moment that Ericka opened herself to Dracula, as she stated that she never knew her parents. Ericka's reluctance began to show itself after her date with Dracula, though she never revealed her true feelings for Dracula to Abraham, who urged his great-granddaughter to continue their scheme, even abducting Wayne and Wanda when they were nearly caught.
Once the ship reached Atlantis, Ericka was spotted by Dracula going into a hidden passageway inside the casino, leading to Dracula following her. The villainess was heading towards the ultimate weapon, with the tail end of the trail containing deadly traps, with Dracula saving Ericka from the first of many. What followed was the couple dancing their way past the traps, with Dracula saving Ericka from all of them until the latter reached the artifact, which Ericka referred to as a family heirloom. At that moment, Mavis--who had been suspicious of Ericka after learning that Dracula was dating her--appeared and warned her father about his new love interest, only for Dracula to state he was in love with Ericka. In response, Ericka stated (albeit forcefully) that she could never fall in love with a monster, before walking off.
The film's climax featured all of the monsters at a dance party, with Dracula feeling glum after being dumped by Ericka. Mavis urged him to follow his heart regarding Ericka, but it was at that moment that Abraham appeared, much to Dracula's surprise, and unveiled his plan to destroy the monsters with the ultimate weapon. Ericka appeared next to Abraham and sadly revealed her true identity as Abraham's great-granddaughter, garnering more shock from Dracula. Her attempts to explain were cut off by Abraham, who cracked open the artifact and revealed an old sheet of music, which Abraham played to release the Kraken and hypnotize it to destroy the monsters. Dracula and Mavis' attempts to fight the monster were failing, and having seen enough, Ericka stepped in and fought the monster while also saving Dracula, and later revealing to her great-grandfather that she and Dracula were in love with each other.
Johnny (Mavis' husband and Dracula's son-in-law) devised the plan to counteract the evil music with some positive songs from his track list, as he managed to calm the Kraken with classic songs such as The Beach Boys' Good Vibrations and Bobby McFerrin's Don't Worry, Be Happy. However, Abraham regained control with his music, but Johnny regained full control back by playing the Macarena, with everybody, including Ericka and even the Kraken and Abraham, doing the titular dance. After Dracula ended up saving Abraham (in spite of their lengthy feud), the latter expressed his gratitude by giving a full refund to the monsters. As for Ericka, she and Dracula continued their relationship, and the film ended with Dracula proposing to Ericka, who accepted.
Trivia[]
- Later that same year, Kathryn Hahn lent her voice to Doctor Octopus in Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse.