reviewed by Charity Bishop
         

Mythology dates legends of vampires all the way back into ancient Rome, when the goddess Lamia was believed to punish those unfaithful to her by robbing them of their children in the night, and draining their blood. In the centuries since, vampires have both been hated and feared, but in recent times, also featured as empathetic heroes in comic books and film franchises. Underworld is the most successful.

A war has been raging for centuries between the lycans (a particular set of werewolves) and Vampires. Among the black-clad vampire warriors known as Death Dealers trained to defeat the enemy is Selene (Kate Beckinsale). Driven by an intense hatred for the werewolves that slaughtered her family in the middle ages, and a desire to please Viktor (Bill Nighy), her mentor and one of the three remaining elders, currently in a century-long hibernation, she relentlessly tracks and slays the enemy one by one. The lycans have taken a recent interest in a human, Michael Corvin (Scott Speedman), and the vampires desire to know why. Soon it will be the eve of the Awakening, when the vampires will gather to awaken Marcus, the next chosen elder meant to rule. The current leader of the coven is power driven Kraven (Shane Brolly), who seeks to pursue Selene as his future queen, but is jealously guarded by the equally determined Erika (Sophia Myles).

Lucian (Michael Sheen), ruler of the Lyrons, has been rumored to be dead for centuries, slain at Kraven's hand, but Selene becomes convinced he still lives. Michael is forced to be taken into confidence when he is repetitively hunted by werewolves, unraveling a dangerous train of events that lead to slaughter, destruction, betrayal, and torment as the coven is split apart through mistrust and rivalry. What results is an exciting two hours spent delving into the underground and the rivalry between feuding clans. If nothing else, the film is original and exciting. It features strong leading women, as well as memorable male counterparts, which makes it appeal to female audiences. It also doesn't overdo the gore factor, and is light on profane language. There are currently two versions of this film released to the general public. The R-rated edition is twenty minutes shy of the Unrated's full length, but the longer version gives a much more dynamic structure to the subplot involving Kraven and Erika.

Because of this, and because the content isn't spiked too much, I am fonder of the longer version. Both films contain a half dozen uses of s**t, three f-words, and a couple abuses of Jesus' name. Each of them also have the same amount of violence. There are numerous scenes of shootouts between vampires and werewolves; both using special bullets to harm their adversaries (bullets for lycans send lead into their bloodstream; for vampires, it contains sunlight capsules that cause them to burn up from the inside out). Blood spatters when lycans attack vampires on a train, and when Lucian bites graphically into Michael's neck. Torture devises are ripped out of a man's chest; needles probe for blood and are used to restrain werewolves. The most gruesome moments come when Viktor slices open a man's face, and his corpse spits blood across the floor, and when a vampire is beheaded. (His head falls into two pieces.)

Backside nudity is obscured by shadows as a werewolf in human form carries a wounded companion through the subway tunnels. The camera rides low on two men as they morph from lycans into humans, and barely avoids frontal nudity. In the uncut version, there's an extended "love scene" with Kraven and Erika in which she removes her shirt (only her bare back is shown) and they make out on the couch (vampire lovemaking is mostly biting). Selene wears tight leather outfits. It was an original idea presented in top form, almost too complicated to fully understand the first time through. The second film builds on this one, but provides a much more streamlined approach. The acting is quite good, and it is a joy to see so many talented cast members together, built up of an International acting base. It also moves at a milder pace than the second film, taking more time for character development. I think only on one level did it fail to meet its high standard, and that was its attempts to make us identify with all the players. Lucian and his lycans were brutal and savage, in contrast with the synthetic-blood drinking vampires, yet I sensed we were supposed to care in some form what happened to them. The brilliance on the part of the filmmakers is not the open ending, but the obscure references to the past history of the characters. It could easily fuel a pre-Underworld film series for its cluster of bloodthirsty fans.