Matthew Van Helsing (Plummer), the alleged descendant of the famed 19th century Dutch medical doctor, Abraham Van Helsing, owns an antique shop in early 21st century London. One night after Van Helsing leaves, his secretary, Solina (Esposito), allows a group of thieves, led by her boyfriend, Marcus (Omar Epps), into the shop. The thieves infiltrate the shop's underground high-security vault and find a sealed silver coffin protected by a deadly defense system. Based on the level of security surrounding the coffin, Solina and Marcus decide that the coffin’s contents must be valuable, so they escape with it and flee to New Orleans, Louisiana. When Van Helsing discovers that the coffin has been stolen, he boards a plane to America, telling his apprentice, Simon Sheppard (Miller), to remain in London. Simon does not follow his mentor’s orders and travels to Louisiana as well.
Aboard the plane, one of the thieves manages to open the coffin, revealing the dormant body of Count Dracula (Butler). Dracula awakens and attacks the thieves, causing the plane to crash in the Louisiana swamps. Dracula survives the crash and travels to New Orleans where college students Mary Heller (Waddell) and Lucy Westerman (Fitzpatrick) are living. Mary is estranged from her family and has recently been plagued by dreams of a strange, terrifying man.
Van Helsing and Simon arrive in New Orleans and destroy the newly turned vampires left in Dracula’s wake. After the battle, Van Helsing reveals to Simon that he is in fact the original Abraham Van Helsing who defeated Dracula in 1897. Because he was unable to destroy Dracula permanently, Van Helsing hid Dracula's body and prolonged his own life with regular injections of Dracula's blood until, one day, he could discover a way to kill Dracula for good.
Van Helsing also tells Simon about his daughter, Mary, who was taken from England by her mother after the truth about his identity came to light. Since Mary was conceived after Van Helsing began his injections, she shares blood and a telepathic link with Dracula. Van Helsing knows that Dracula senses Mary's existence and is in New Orleans to find her.
Van Helsing and Simon try to reach Mary before Dracula does, but fail to do so before Dracula turns Lucy into a vampire. Dracula and his three new brides, Solina, Lucy, and Valerie, corner Van Helsing and kill him. Simon and Mary escape, only to be captured by Dracula shortly thereafter.
Dracula kidnaps Mary and shows her his story: Dracula is Judas, the one who betrayed Jesus. But as he went to hang himself, the rope broke and he had to live for two thousand years as a vampire. At the time Mary understands this she's already a vampire. Now the three brides appear with Simon and Dracula tells Mary to bite him. She does but he only fakes the bite and together Mary and Simon kill the three brides. Angry about what Mary did Dracula wants to throw her from the skyscraper. But Mary can wrap some cable from a big Jesus figure around Draculas neck and they both fall from the skyscraper. So Dracula hangs like he wanted to do two thousand years before. But this time the rope does not break and he burns in the first sunlight.
Mary and Simon take his ashes – in which still his soul might be – back to London to fulfill Van Helsing's work.
