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Underworld

Directed by	Len Wiseman
Written by	Len Wiseman Kevin Grevioux Danny McBride
Starring	Kate Beckinsale Scott Speedman Bill Nighy Michael Sheen Shane Brolly
Produced by	Gary Lucchesi Robert Bernacchi Tom Rosenberg
Music by	Paul Haslinger
Distributed by	Screen Gems
Release Date	September 19, 2003
Followed by	Underworld: Evolution

Underworld is a 2003 action-horror film about the secret history of Vampires and a type of Werewolf known as Lycans (an abbreviated form of lycanthrope). It is the first film in the Underworld series. The main plot revolves around Selene, a Vampire who is a Death Dealer who has devoted herself to the extinction of the Lycan species. She finds herself attracted to a human named Michael Corvin, who is being targeted by the Lycans. After Michael is bitten by a Lycan, Selene must decide whether to do her duty and kill him, or go against her clan and save him.

Underworld is written by Len Wiseman, Kevin Grevioux, and Danny McBride and is directed by Len Wiseman.

PlotEdit

Perched on the ledge of a building on a rainy night, two black-garbed Vampires known as Death Dealers track a pair of Lycans walking on the street below. The Vampires, Selene and Rigel, specialize in assassinating this ancient species. Selene's motivation goes beyond duty; she also wants revenge, for she believes that Lycans slaughtered her family when she was a child. The Vampires believe that they defeated the Lycans many centuries ago and killed their leader, Lucian, and that they must now kill off the survivors. As the Vampires follow the Lycans into a subway station, the Lycans realize that they are being followed, and they open fire with submachine guns. In the chaotic shootout, Selene realizes that the Lycans may have been following a human, Michael Corvin, which is very unusual. After the Lycans retreat from Selene's barrage of machine pistol fire, she tracks them to their lair, where she hears loud howling.

When Selene arrives at the Vampire Coven's mansion, she recounts the evening's events. However, the Vampire regent Kraven tells her to drop the matter, and openly mocks her. Selene secretly continues her investigation, intending to find out why the Lycans were chasing a human, and whether there may be a large den of Lycans.

Meanwhile, in an underground Lycan lair, a scientist named Singe is testing blood from kidnapped descendants of the Corvinus family, to try to find a pure source of the ancient and powerful Corvinus blood type. He announces that all of his tests have been failing, and that he must find a new test subject soon.

Soon after, Selen breaks into Michael's apartment and the pair are attacked by Lycans, including Lucian, who bites Micheal on the shoulder. Selene helps Michael to escape, and he saves her life after she passes out from blood loss and drives her car into a river. When Selene returns to the Vampire mansion with Michael, Kraven loses his temper, and mentions Lucian in the present tense, making Selene suspicious of whether Lucian really died six centuries previously. At the same time, a curious servant named Erika discovers the Lycan bite on Michael's shoulder and chases him from the mansion.

Selene continues her investigation by breaking into the Coven's library to learn about the hidden past of the Vampires. She finds an ancient leather-bound book, where she recognizes the pendant Lucian had been wearing, confirming her suspicion that the powerful Lycan is still alive. She awakens a powerful Vampire Elder named Viktor, whom she trusts and believes will help her. To her surprise, Viktor condemns Selene to be judged by the Vampire Elder Amelia and the Vampire Council for the crime of awakening him ahead of schedule. Selene is locked away, but is soon released by Erika, who is desperately in love with Kraven, and who hopes Selene will no longer be competition for Kraven's attentions should she flee the Coven.

Selene flees to Michael, but a shootout causes her to become distracted, allowing the Lycans to kidnap Michael. Selene then captures Singe, and is able to torture him for information. She takes him back to the Coven, where he admits to Viktor that the Lycans have been trying to combine the bloodlines of the two species with the Corvinus Strain to create a powerful Hybrid.

During this time, Amelia and the Vampire Council are slaughtered by Lycans in an ambush set up by Kraven. After learning of this, Viktor kills Singe, and leaves in search of Kraven, who has fled the Coven. He tells Selene that she must kill Michael, and that she will be forgiven for awakening Viktor ahead of schedule if she does so.

Meanwhile, in the Lycan lair where Michael is being held captive, he learns through Lucian's memories that Viktor killed Lucian's Vampire bride, Sonja, to prevent the mingling of the two bloodlines, which led to war. The Vampires raid the Lycan lair, and Kraven flees to avoid Viktor's wrath. Before he does so, he shoots Lucian in the back with a silver nitrate bullet, leaving him to die.

Selene initially enters the lair along with the other Death Dealers, but she quickly abandons the group to find Michael, hoping to flee with him before he can be killed. After Michael is shot by a jealous Kraven, Lucian urges Selene to bite Michael before he dies, so that his blood will have both Lycan and Vampire strains. Kraven informs Selene that Viktor killed her family, not Lycans, and that Viktor murdered his own daughter, Sonja, which started the war. Viktor attacks Michael, but is too late, and Michael is able to shift into a Lycan/Vampire Hybrid. When Selene sees Viktor strangling Michael, she attacks him with his own sword, slicing his head in half. Selene and Michael then leave the Lycan lair together, intending to escape the remaining Death Dealers.

Back at the mansion, as Singe's blood seeps through the trapdoor of the sarcophagus of the remaining Elder, Marcus Corvinus, Marcus awakens with black eyes, showing that Singe's blood has made him a Hybrid.

CastEdit

DVD & Blu-Ray ReleaseEdit

DVD Bonus FeaturesEdit

Director and Writers Commentary (Original Theatrecal Cut)
Technical Commentary (Original Theatrecal Cut)
Featurettes:
1. The Making of Underworld
2. Creature Effects
3. Stunts
4. Sights & Sounds
Storyboard Comparison
Finch's "Worms of the Earth" Music Video
TV Spots

Blu-Ray Bonus FeaturesEdit

Director and Cast Commentary (Extended Edition)
Featurettes:
1. The Making of Underworld
2. Visual Effects of Underworld
3. Creature Effects
4. Stunts
5. Design of Underworld
6. The Look of Underworld
7. Sights & Sounds
Outtakes
Fang vs. Fiction - Documentary
Storyboard Comparison
Finch's "Worms of the Earth" Music Video

Legal controversyEdit

The film was the subject of a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by White Wolf, Inc. and Nancy A. Collins claiming the setting was too similar to the Vampire: The Masquerade and Werewolf: The Apocalypse games, both set in the World of Darkness setting, and the Sonja Blue vampire novels. White Wolf filed 17 counts of copyright infringement, and claimed over 80 points of unique similarity between White Wolf's game systems and the movie. White Wolf, Inc. also claimed the script was very similar to a story entitled The Love of Monsters (1994) which they published and was written by Nancy A. Collins. In September 2003, a judge granted White Wolf an expedited hearing.

Critical receptionEdit

Critics generally gave Underworld a negative reception. It scored a 31% approval rating at the film-critics' aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes. Roger Ebert said, "This is a movie so paltry in its characters and shallow in its story that the war seems to exist primarily to provide graphic visuals". However, some critics were more favorable: the New York Daily News praised it as being "stylish and cruel, and mightily entertaining for certain covens out there".

Salon reviewer Andrew O'Hehir gave mixed criticism and praise, stating, "[B]y any reasonable standard, this dark vampire epic — all massive overacting, cologne-commercial design and sexy cat suits — sucks". But O'Hehir also remarks that, "...at least it gives a crap", conceding that despite the movie's flaws, the complex vampire-werewolf mythology back-story "has been meticulously worked out".

Kevin L. Nault writes that one "significant character, Kraven (played by Shane Brolly), was consistently flat or simply off. Almost without fail, he came across with an emotion that I didn't buy, given the circumstances, or merely came across emotionally flat when I was expecting real terror." Nault goes on to note that "a powerful performance by Kevin Grevioux (also one of two writers for the movie) as the werewolf Raze was partially wasted by the fact that I constantly wondered who he was. He was clearly an important part of the werewolf group, but didn't appear to be exactly second in command or anything."

SoundtrackEdit

Main article: Underworld (soundtrack)

The film's soundtrack was produced by Danny Lohner and distributed via Roadrunner Records. Lohner (born 1970), a bass guitarist, guitarist and keyboardist who has recorded with Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson, contributed several songs to the soundtrack under the pseudonym Renholdër. Lohner continued included a song by Skinny Puppy, a Canadian industrial band. Lohner also included a song by The Dillinger Escape Plan, a US band which performs an aggressive, technical style of hardcore punk called mathcore; a song by US alternative rock/post-Hardcore band Finch entitled "Worms of the Earth"; a song by The Icarus Line, a band known for its abrasive form of rock music; and Lisa Germano, an American singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who specializes in alternative rock and dream pop.

Music critic Bill Aicher notes that the "soundtrack follow[s] in a similar gothic vein" as the visuals and states that it "does an excellent job setting the dark mood" by using "a veritable who's who in the genre" with an "impressive array of metal, hard rock, industrial, and otherwise gothic-themed tracks". Aicher notes that since "a majority of the selections [are] written, produced, or featuring Lohner, the album retains a sense of cohesion throughout, making it much more a complete product than has generally been the case with similarly-themed products." He states that the "album's highest point" is the song with Maynard James Keenan (from Tool and A Perfect Circle), David Bowie, and guitarist John Frusciante (of The Red Hot Chili Peppers), which is entitled "Bring Me the Disco King (Loner Mix)"; he calls the song "[d]ark, brooding, sad, and twitchy".

ScoreEdit

Main article: Underworld Original Score

The Underworld Original Score was released on October 14, 2003, comprised of music composed by Paul Haslinger.

QuotesEdit

This film has a quotes category.

TriviaEdit

Writer/director Len Wiseman wanted to make the film with the feel of being "a living, breathing graphic novel."
Underworld and Underworld: Evolution were originally all one script, which had to be divided into two in order to fit time and budget constraints, with the intention of making the second half of the script into a second film if the first film became a hit.
Len Wiseman has stated that he would like someday soon to release both Underworld and Underworld: Evolution as Directors Cut Editions.
One of the Vampires seen in the mansion is Nick Rhodes of the band Duran Duran.
The actors only had two weeks of wirework and prop training.
Days before its US opening, the president of Screen Gems green lit not only a sequel to the movie Underworld, but also a prequel after seeing the number of tickets sold in Canada alone.
At the time of Underworld's filming, director Len Wiseman was married to a teacher, and lead actress Kate Beckinsale (Selene) was in a long-term relationship with Michael Sheen (Lucian). Kate and Len met on the set of Underworld, and began a relationship that broke up both of their marriages. The couple married just before the opening of Underworld: Evolution.

Underworld
Films	Underworld: Rise of the Lycans - Underworld - Underworld: Evolution - Underworld: Awakening
Topics	Death Dealer - Hybrid - Lycan - Vampire - Corvinus Strain - Human - Immortal - Werewolf - Vampire Elder
Publishings	Underworld: Evolution comic - Underworld: Red in Tooth and Claw - Underworld: Evolution novel - Underworld novel - Underworld: Rise of the Lycans novel - Underworld comic - Underworld: Rise of the Lycans comic - Blood Enemy
Animation	Underworld: Endless War
Soundtracks	Underworld: Rise of the Lycans - Underworld - Underworld: Evolution - Underworld: Awakening
Scores	Underworld - Underworld: Evolution - Underworld: Rise of the Lycans - Underworld: Awakening

v · e · d Underworld
Characters
Major Characters
Selene - Michael Corvin - Kraven - Viktor - Erika - Lucian - Raze
Other Characters
Rigel - Nathaniel - Kahn - Amelia - Singe - Duncan - Trix - Adam Lockwood - Dmitri - Mason - Soren - Pierce - Taylor - Sonja - Samantha - Corvinus Clan - Marcus Corvinus - The Third Corvinus Son - Timea
Weapons
Weaponry of Underworld - Ultraviolet ammunition - Silver Nitrate Bullets - Silver - Silver Bullets - Swords - Shurikens - AKM - AMD-65 Assault Rifle - Knives - Modified Beretta 92FS - Whips
Species
Vampire - Lycan - Hybrid - Immortal - Human
Locations
Ördögház - Lycan Den - Subway Station - Apartment 510 - Vampire Safe Houses - Budapest - Saint Istvan Hospital - Castle Corvinus
Terms
Corvinus Strain - Vampire Council - Death Dealer - Vampire Elder - The Chain - Blood Memories - Ziodex Industries - Old World Coven - New World Coven
Archives
Items - Soundtrack - Original Score - Novel - Comic - Quotes - Videos - Images