Review of Underworld (2003) by Conner R — 30 May 2011

This is one of those times where an entire sub-genre is suddenly brought back to life in ways it never was before, but in Underworld's case it's two. Both Vampire and Werewolf movies had taken a dive for a long time and it seemed like no one was going to pull them out of low-budget and straight to video markets.

Then along comes Len Wiseman and his complete visionary tale that combines the two species into one viscous war ground. I don't think many people could have seen such a cool movie idea based on film history.

You pretty much have the Wolfman and Dracula, with a few classics thrown out on either side. This threw away 80% of the clichés and kept in only what was necessary and plausible. You get rid of the garlic and silver canes and bring in UV bullets and liquidized silver.

There was also an entirely new mythology and new characters built around this epic. It's the best possible way to deal with a stale property; just built it from the ground up. The result is one of the coolest action/horror movies to exist within the last ten years easy.

Giving someone like Kate Beckinsale the reigns as the protagonist is great for eye candy and acting chops; the best of both worlds. Then you throw a couple of classically trained actors on either side (Michael Sheen and Bill Nighy) and you have one solid movie.

However, Len Wiseman went a step further and made this look amazing and have the production value of a movie three times its budget. The sets, creature effects and costuming is ridiculously well put together.

Now it's sort've easy to look past Underworld now that so many movies have profited from its success, but this really is a masterpiece when it comes to either Vampire and Werewolf movies. In my opinion, it's a masterpiece period.