Title: Underworld
Running Time: 121 minutes
MPAA Rating: R for violence/gore and some language
Release Date: September 19, 2003
Studio: Screen Gems
Perhaps the most important thing to realize about Underworld is that it is
primarily an action film: not a groundbreaking exploration of the vampire mythos.
That being said, Underworld actually had more of a plot than I expected. I saw it the
day after it opened, having only a single viewing of the downloadable trailer and
a few comments from friends on a BBS to go on. I'd heard that it was "pretentious",
"like Romeo and Juliet, only with vampires and werewolves", and "pretty to look at."
I have a feeling a lot of people went to see Underworld with the impression that it
was going place much more of an emphasis on the vampire society and mystique than it
actually did. The vampirism and lycanthropy were there mostly for aesthetic effect
on what was basically your standard action flick.
We meet our viewpoint character, Selene (played by Kate Beckinsale), in the film's
first few moments. Dressed in a form-fitting vinyl suit, a Matrix-esque overcoat, and
the sexiest boots I've ever seen, her inner voice narrates to the audience that she is
a warrior in a centuries-old battle between vampires and werewolves. First impression:
this would make an excellent premise for a video game. This is not necessarily a bad
thing. I liked the Resident Evil movie. I'm a sucker for the chicks with guns
subgenre. There isn't much dialogue in the first few minutes of Underworld, unless
you consider bullet exchange a form of conversation. A shootout ensues in a subway station,
here we meet our first few werewolves, or "lycans", as they are referred to in
the film. In the scuffle, Selene discovers a werewolf hideout, and realizes that perhaps
the opposition is stronger than she and her vampire clan had suspected. She returns home;
"home" being a massive high-tech mansion somewhere outside the urban sprawl.
At this point, I made the following observations about the reality portrayed in Underworld:
1.) The reaction of humanity as a whole to the existence of supernatural humanoids is not going
to be explored; this movie isn't about "normal" people.
2.) If you put a vampire and a werewolf together in a room and took their guns away,
the vampire would be ripped to shreds.
3.) For creatures that presumably have had several human lifetimes of practice with
firearms, these vampires and werewolves have fairly poor aim. (though one might argue that
any increased weapon proficiency will be countered by an equally proficient ability
to dodge.)
4.) This entire movie is most likely going to take place in the dark. And it will be
raining constantly (which might account for the vampires' apparent fascination with vinyl).
Selene returns home in the midst of a party to celebrate the forthcoming Awakening of
one of the great clan leaders, Marcus. It is not really made clear why several vampire elders
are kept in storage for centuries at a time; perhaps these vampires are so old that periodically
they need to rest in order to regenerate. Right now, the decision-maker for the clan is an
extremely irritating vampire called Kraven. He is, to put it mildly, a dick: rude, self-
important, and a terrible dresser. I practically (okay, literally) laughed out loud when he
walked into the room demanding that Selene put on something "elegant", while he was wearing a
sparkly Liberace shirt. Nipping at his heels is Erica, looking like Vampire Barbie: she
is, for some incomprehensible reason, infatuated with Kraven. Kraven has eyes for Selene,
but one gets the impression he feels entitled to her; she is not attracted to him in the
least. Considering the way he treats her, this is perfectly understandable; he barks orders
at her and slaps her, and she is SO not into that sort of thing.
Here we have our first mention of Victor, another vampire elder currently in the midst
of a very long nap. Victor had been the clan leader prior to Kraven, and Selene obviously
has a lot of respect for him. She looks up to Victor like something of a father figure, and
seems extremely bitter now that Kraven, rather than Victor, is in charge. There's a lot
of, "Victor would never agree to this!", "If only Victor were here right now!", "You just
WAIT until Victor hears about this!"
When Selene suggests that the werewolves are fortifying their numbers in secret, she
is met with scorn and disbelief. Using a surveillance recording, Selene also
figures out that the werewolves were following a human. Apparently, this is quite a
big deal. Selene gets the impression that the lycans must have some nefarious purpose
in mind for this human, a young medical intern named Michael Corvin. Though she has no
idea what this purpose could be, she figures that it does not bode well for the vampires.
She sets out to find Corvin, to see what special characteristic he might have that the
lycans would be interested in.
Selene finds Corvin at his apartment. She is just a bit too late, however; the lycans
are already there. We have another action sequence, a scuffle involving plenty of wall-
climbing (the lycans have Spiderman-like abilities) and seemingly inexhaustible rounds of
ammunition. Something happens to Corvin during this struggle (take a wild guess what it is!)
and Selene saves his ass, only to have him save her ass a few scenes later. This presumably
forms some sort of bond between the two, or at least the beginning of an understanding. It
doesn't lead to very much. Those of you who were looking forward to vampire-werewolf sex
(or any sort of sex whatsoever) are going to be disappointed. I actually found it kind of
refreshing NOT to have the vampires portrayed as sexually obsessed. I also do not believe that the
comparison to Romeo and Juliet is a good one; the only plot element shared by R&J and
Underworld is the idea of two members of rival clans forming some sort of alliance.
One of the things I always pay close attention to in works of fantasy where humans
are suddenly made aware of things outside their previous paradigm of reality is the
believability of the humans' reactions. In some cases, acceptance of things outside
the norm seems to occur too quickly and without sufficient incredulity. Corvin, however, seems
appropriately terrified and confused. The movie does a good job of integrating Corvin into
the world of vampires and werewolves -- and we eventually discover why this confrontation was
probably inevitable.
Perhaps because I wasn't expecting much in the way of plot, I was pleasantly surprised
by the story element of Underworld. I generally get a bit smug about predicting plot twists,
(I had Sixth Sense figured out within the first 30 minutes or so), but
this movie managed to slip one by me without my noticing the warning signs. There is much
hidden in the past (Selene explains to Corvin that "digging into the past is forbidden"), and
when it is brought to light, the characters are forced to make some major adjustments to
their allegiances and points of view. I found myself at a loss to state who the good guys
were and who the bad guys were; everyone seemed to have their own agenda, and everyone was
willing to achieve it through unsavory means. If I had to pick sides, I'd have to say
Selene and Michael were the most admirable, since they seemed most willing to question the
origins of the conflict between the vampires and the lycans. Plus, Selene was pretty damn
hot. (This movie did suffer from a lack of attractive males; Corvin just looked goofy, the
werewolves looked like members of 80s thrash metal bands, Kraven was obviously trying way
too hard, and Victor had...issues.)
Overall, I definitely enjoyed Underworld. It had enough stroboscopic lighting
effects, sudden noises, and eye candy to satisfy my pathologically short attention span.
However, I concede that perhaps going into a movie with low expectations, and enjoying it
in part because it exceeded those low expectations, means that Underworld was by no means
a "great" movie. A fun movie, yes. A deep philosophical commentary on alienation and
supernatural abilities as metaphor, not on your life. They could certainly have done
more with the vampires; the bit about the sleeping elders still bothers me a bit...what exactly
are the conditions for immortality, anyway? Plus, there was a conspicuous lack of blood-
sucking. I think there may have been one single instance of a vampire actually biting
someone in the whole film; the fangs seemed mainly decorative. I also think that Hollywood
really needs to stop shopping at the Matrix outerwear boutique; why couldn't the vampires
have had cloaks, for pete's sake? Why is it always those damn trench coats?
If you are going to see Underworld, do so as a diversion. You aren't going to learn anything
new or experience much of a mindfuck. If you can find the element of fun and relax your
inner cynic, you will probably enjoy this movie.
A sequel is apparently in the works; the film's creators envision Underworld as the first of a trilogy of films.
Numerous noders messaged me regarding the lawsuit filed by roleplaying game publishers White Wolf. White Wolf officials allege that Underworld's setting and characters are, in fact, copied from the games Vampire: The Masquerade and Werewolf: The Apocalypse. Author Nancy A. Collins, whose short story Love of Monsters was published by White Wolf in 1994, claims that Underworld's plot is lifted from that very story. I've never played the games in question, nor read the story, so I can't speak for the legitimacy of the lawsuit. However, the archetypes of vampires and werewolves have existed in literature and film for many years. I would imagine that there is bound to be some perfectly innocent overlap.
CAST:
Selene Kate Beckinsale
Michael Scott Speedman
Viktor Bill Nighy
Lucian Michael Sheen
Kraven Shane Brolly
Singe Erwin Leder
Kahn Robbie Gee
Erika Sophia Myles
Dr. Adam Wentworth Miller
Raze Kevn Grevioux
Amelia Zita Gorgog
Dignitary Dennis Kozeluh
Soren Scott McElroy
Trix Rodd Schneider
Rigel Sandor Bolla
Nathaniel Hank Amos
Gunshot girl Zsuzsa Barsi
Pierce Rich Cetrone
Taylor Mike Mukatis
Candidate #1 Sandor Boros
Candidate #2 Janos Olah
Death Dealer Captain Andreas Patton
Mason Danny McBride
Sonja Jazmin Damak
Wolfgang Atilla Pinke
Zsuzsa Judit Kuchta
Timea Vanessa Nagy
Michael's old girlfriend Ildiko Kovacs
Werewolf Performers Briane Steele and Kurt Carley
CREW:
Director Len Wiseman
Screenplay Danny McBride
Story By Kevin Grevioux, Danny McBride and Len Wiseman
Producers Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi and Richard S. Wright
Director of Photography Tony Pierce-Roberts
Creature Designer Patrick Tatopoulos
Production Designer Bruton Jones
Art Director Kevin Phipps
Editor Martin Hunter
Casting Deborah Aquila, Tricia Wood and Celestia Fox
Costume Designer Wendy Partridge
Music Paul Haslinger
Key Make-Up Artist Trefor Proud
Key Hairstylist Giovanni Giuliano
References:
http://romanticmovies.about.com/library/weekly/aaunderworldcast.htm (an odd
resource, because I didn't find this movie particularly romantic)
http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/art-main.html?2003-09/25/11.00.film
http://www.white-wolf.com/
My own viewing of the film.