Underworld (2003 film)
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| Underworld | |
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| File:Underworld movie poster.jpg | |
| Directed by | Len Wiseman |
| Written by | Kevin Grevioux Len Wiseman Danny McBride |
| Produced by | Robert Bernacchi Gary Lucchesi Tom Rosenberg |
| Starring | Kate Beckinsale Scott Speedman Michael Sheen Bill Nighy Shane Brolly |
| Distributed by | Screen Gems (Sony) |
Release dates | September 19, 2003 |
Running time | 116 Min/133 min (Special edition) |
| Language | English |
Underworld is a 2003 horror/action movie (see 2003 in film) about the secret history of vampire and werewolves, where the latter are referred to as "Lycan" as an abbreviated form of lycanthrope. The main plot revolves around Selene (Kate Beckinsale), a vampire "Death Dealer", or one who hunts Lycans, a job she is extremely good at due to the fact that she is fueled with hatred for the whole species, whom she believes to be responsible for her family's slaughter. She finds herself attracted to a medical intern, Michael Corvin (Scott Speedman), after saving him from the Lycan master Lucian (who bit Michael and infected him with the Lycan virus), and must decide whether to do her "duty" and kill him or to risk her life to save him. This movie has many parallels as a dark Romeo and Juliet tale.
Corvinus Strain
In the Underworld myths, Vampires and Lycans are not mystical creatures, but rather the product of a virus. Sixteen centuries ago, a man named Alexander Corvinus was the only survivor of a plague that wiped out his village. Somehow, the man's body was able to mutate the virus, mold it to benefit of his own and he became the first true immortal. Later, he had three sons, one of which did not inherit his father's immortality and was simply human. The other two were bitten, one by bat and one by wolf, creating the Vampire and Lycan lines. Corvinus' third son also carried the Corvinus Strain, hidden away in his genetic code — an exact duplicate of the original virus, passed along to his human descendants through the centuries. This, according to Singe, is the key to creating a Hybrid. So in the movie as we see, the Lycans are capturing every possible Corvin to test if the strain is in him.
Plot outline
 | This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. |
The movie opens with Selene perched on a tower ledge overlooking the city, (Budapest). Through narrations, she tells us that six centuries ago, the Lycan leader Lucian had finally been killed, a turning point in the war. The Death Dealers (vampire warriors charged to fight and kill the Lycan enemy) have been trying to wipe the Lycan race out completely ever since, a mission that is supposedly almost complete.
The Subway Battle
She and her fellow Death Dealer Rigel are trailing a pair of Lycans (Raze and Trix), unaware that they are in turn stalking a human - Michael Corvin, whom Selene inadvertently makes eye contact with. Trailing them into a subway station, the two Death Dealers are spotted by Raze and a shoot-out ensues, with Rigel being killed by the Lycans. A woman is shot in the crossfire, and Michael tries to assist her. Trix makes a grab for him and is shot by Selene. He escapes, with Selene in hot pursuit. Another Death Dealer, Nathaniel, has Raze pinned down. Out of ammo, he attempts to make a run for it but is caught by Nathaniel. Raze transforms to his lycan form as Nathaniel reveals his fangs and blue eyes. The two fight, with Nathaniel seemingly losing.
Selene loses Trix temporarily after he digs the silver round out of his shoulder. He attempts to ambush her and she guns him down, killing him for good. She examines his gun and the ammunition inside, but is interrupted by Raze in wolf form. Slowing him down with silver throwing stars, Selene escapes - only to overhear noises from a pipe, indicating a Lycan battle.
In the Lycan den, two Lycans (Pierce and Taylor) tear into each other, goaded by the rest until it is stopped by their leader, who is considerably more sophisticated and dignified than the rest.
Informing the Others
Returning to Ordoghaz, Selene confronts Kahn, the chief Death Dealer with the new Lycan bullets. He identifies it as an Ultraviolet round - daylight as a weapon. Their fears are dismissed by the regent Kraven, with Kahn reluctantly agreeing. Kraven decides to send Soren to check it out - much to Selene's fury. Kraven sends Erika to find her and make sure she is properly attired for the arrival of the envoy of the Vampire Elder Amelia. Erika discovers her in the tomb of Viktor, another of the Elders, commenting that Viktor wouldn't want her to freeze to death. Elsewhere, Michael finishes his day at work (an Internship at a hospital), being complimented on his surgical skills.
Later that night, Amelia's envoy has arrived. Selene ignores Erika's attempts to interest her in a dress for the evening, instead being more interested in the photos Rigel took earlier. Recalling Trix's attempt to grab Michael, she realizes that the Lycans were after him. She attempts to convince Kraven of this, but he is more concerned with having her on his arm for the evening.
The Lycan Experiments
In the Lycan lair, a scientist, Singe, works tirelessly to find a match for the Corvinus Strain, but with no luck. They decide to try again in pursuit of Michael.
The Failed Attempt to Rescue Michael
Selene travels to Michael's house upon acquiring his address, and attempts to rescue him from the hordes of lycans in his pursuit. She demands from him to know why they are after him, but their conversation is interrupted. They both attempt an escape, but not before Lucian succeeds at biting Michael in the shoulder.
The two of them are both injured during their attempted escape, but Michael, the lesser injured, rescues Selene after their car ends up in a lake. Lucian returns with Michael's blood sample, pleased he marked Michael as a Lycan. Singe tests the blood; it is "positive"...
Discovery of Michael's Lycanhood
Selene awakes to find her shoulder has been bandaged. Michael has passed out from his head injury, having a series of bizarre nightmares. He eventually awakens in the Vampire mansion, but soon passes out again. An intrigued Erika wonders why Selene brought him to Ordoghaz, to which she replies, "He saved my life." A furious Kraven berates her for bringing a human to Ordoghaz. He dismisses her fears that the Lycans wanted him, noting that Lucian wouldn't care about a human, making Selene suspicious.
When Michael awakes a second time, Ericka points out that he has somehow become a lycan. She panics, clinging to the ceiling. Michael also panics, and jumps out the window to escape. The vampires grow even more restless, given that a lycan has been to their manor.
The Plot Thickens
Selene grows suspicious of Kraven's killing of Lucian, collects evidence to take to the library. Selene then notices a drawing of Lucian's pendant - the same one she saw before! Lucian is still alive. She then learns from Erika that Michael is a Lycan. Elsewhere, Kraven and Lucian are meeting. Kraven berates Lucian for the public shootout, but Lucian reminds him of the "arrangement" and warns him he'd be nothing without him. Kraven leaves as Raze and Soren stare daggers at one another.
What Research Shows
With no alternative, and knowing Kraven must be in league with Lucian, Selene decides to awaken Viktor. She sneaks into the crypt to feed him her blood. Only Elders have the skill to organize their memories into a cohesive vision, and as far as she knew, Selene is the only non-Elder to attempt an awakening by herself. Not only is her blood supposed to awaken him, but he can acquire all her memories through it; Selene is counting on this.
Michael tries to seek aid from his friend at the hospital, but his tale of being bitten by a man lead him to call in Pierce and Taylor. Michael escapes again, and takes a cab to Ordoghaz, attempting to speak to Selene. Kraven threatens to ban her from the coven, but Selene merely counters that Viktor would now make that decision.
Filling Michael In
Selene drives out to meet Michael, where she sees that he had indeed been bitten. She then explains the long history between Vampire and Lycan. Kraven decides to check whether Viktor is awake, but is instead met by Erika, who reveals the truth about Michael. The two are then confronted by a desiccated figure - Viktor. Viktor demands to know what has happened and furiously suggests that Kraven summon Marcus - only to be told Selene has brought him out of hibernation a century early.
Selene takes Michael to a safehouse, where she reveals the gory details of how Death Dealers torture their Lycan captives for information. Michael mentions his nightmares and Selene explains they are actually Lucian's memories. Selene then reveals why she hates the Lycans - they butchered her entire family, leaving her the only survivor, to be rescued and turned into a vampire by Viktor. She then informs him that she has to go back to the coven to explain her position, cuffing Michael to a chair, to protect others while he changes into his wolf form during the full moon.
Viktor Turns Against Selene
Lucian has charged Singe to lead a battalion to follow Selene and capture Michael. They wait for her at the manor while she faces Viktor. Although he has sympathy for Selene his verdict is damning - her incoherent blood memories have shown him nothing, and her dalliance with a Lycan is unforgivable. He informs her she will be judged most severely for breaking the chain of Elders that has sustained them this long. While Kraven is locking her in her room, he refers to her as his "future queen", which Erika overhears.
Kraven then informs Kahn that Soren's team will pick up Amelia. Instead, Soren stands by and watches as Lycans massacre Amelia's entire party. Meanwhile, at the manor, Erika shuts off the electricity. In the dark and commotion, Erika enters Selene's room with two guns and keys to a car, but insists that her aiding of Selene's escape is for selfish motives, not sympathetic ones.
Selene rushes to get to Michael before the full moon rises, with Singe in hot pursuit. Just as she reaches the safe house, Singe's Lycans attack. A firefight erupts, and Michael leaps five stories to safety, only to be captured by Pierce and Taylor. Selene eliminates all the Lycans apart from Singe. Michael begins to transform, but Pierce dopes him up with something to stop the change. At the train station, Amelia is wounded, but alive, as Raze begins extracting her blood. When Kahn realizes Amelia is late, he sends his team to find her. They arrive at the station to find everyone dead.
Kraven informs a now fully-regenerated Viktor that Selene has fled and that it wasn't his fault - as Selene arrives with Singe. The captive Lycan reveals the truth: The Lycans have been experimenting to combine the bloodlines of the two species via the Corvinus Strain, something they can only do with a descendant of Alexander Corvinus himself - i.e Michael.
If a Lycan could get Michael's blood, along with that of a Vampire Elder, he could turn himself into a Hybrid. He also reveals Kraven's treachery, forcing him to flee. Just then, Kahn comes in to inform Viktor of Amelia's fate. In a rage, Viktor kills Singe in one blow, spilling his blood all over the floor. Viktor then turns to Selene and tells her all she has to do is kill Michael and she will be exonerated.
The Flashback
Michael wakes up strapped to a slab in Singe's lab. He is greeted by Lucian, who then extracts blood from Michael and injects it into himself. While Michael watches him, he recognizes the pendant Lucian wears, and all of a sudden, his nightmares make sense: a blonde girl wearing the pendant is chained to a column in a room similar to the Elder's crypt. In front of her is Lucian chained to the floor being whipped, while a group behind bars yell in protest. Viktor and the council witness the whipping, then leave the room. The ceiling is opened up to let in the sunlight, and the girl on the column immediately screams and burns. Later that night, Viktor returns to pick the pendant off her carbonized corpse. He looks sad. Just then, the full moon rises, and Lucian transforms. Lucian breaks his chains, grabs the pendant, and escapes.
The Final Battle Begins
Michael snaps out of it and realises the truth - the Vampires started the war. Lucian explains Lycans were once slaves to the vampires, their daylight guardians, and Lucian was born into it. He didn't hate vampires then; in fact, he married one. Viktor caught them both and intended to kill them both for their abominable union, as Sonja was pregnant, creating a Hybrid - something Viktor greatly feared.
Kraven and Soren's team show up. Lucian's men escort Soren into a chamber while Kraven and Lucian talk. They are interrupted by machine gun fire, as Selene arrives with a team of Death Dealers. Kraven betrays Lucian and shoots him with Kahn's silver nitrate gun. A battle erupts as Selene rushes off to free Michael, and Raze avenges his fallen leader by finding Soren and killing him despite the Vampire's silver whips. Lucian is still alive, barely. Selene eventually finds Michael and unties him, telling him to go despite his protests they'll kill her too. Lucian, crawling, sees them together. Michael tells her he knows what started the war. When Raze is done with Soren, he goes after Viktor, but Viktor easily breaks Raze's neck and impales him on his sword.
Rise of the Hybrid
Selene and Michael are looking for a way out when they come across Kraven, who shoots Michael full of silver nitrate bullets, beginning to kill him. Out of spite, Kraven tells Selene the truth about Viktor: he slaughtered and fed on Selene's family all those years ago, not the Lycans. Kraven was the one who cleaned up the mess. Viktor couldn't kill Selene because she reminded him of Sonja, the daughter he executed. Just then, Lucian crawls up behind Kraven and stabs him in the leg with his arm blade. With Kraven distracted, Lucian manages to say to Selene, "Bite him!" She remembers Singe's words, and bites Michael thus transmiting the vampire virus into him. Kraven gets to his feet just so Lucian can taunt him with ultimate victory. Kraven replies by emptying his gun into Lucian, killing the Lycan leader. Kraven finally flees before Viktor shows up to kill Michael. He tosses Selene aside, picks up Michael and throws him through a wall into a flooded courtyard beneath - where he begins a startling transformation. Selene sees Viktor for who he really is and confronts him with everything . Despite his guilt, he defends all his actions, as he believed he was protecting the species.
While this confrontation is happening, Michael is changing. His whole body has become black and his eyes are obsidian as his bone structure morphs into something never seen before. When Viktor turns to finish Michael off, he meets his match - Michael in full Hybrid form!
But despite Michael's power, Viktor's experience allows him to get the upper hand. Selene attempts to aid him, but is knocked away by Viktor. He's about to snap Michael's neck when Selene snatches Viktor's sword off the ground and slices Viktor's head in half in one sweeping blow. The cut is so clean that Victor actually manages to turn and re-arm himself with two concealed blades in his sleeves before stopping and looking astonished as his head slides in half.
The Aftermath
The battle ends abruptly and Selene looks at him in amazement. Two Lycans retreat into the shadows as they see what has happened. Selene picks up Sonja's pendant and gives it to Michael to keep. They walk out together, speechless and numb.
Selene then narrates that she "cannot predict the future", but reminds us that Marcus is the only vampire Elder left alive and that the vampire nation will react to all that has happened. Selene believes she will become a target now that Viktor is dead. Back in the crypt, Singe's blood had poured across the floor till it reached Marcus' sarcophagus, where it seeps through, all over Marcus' body. His eyes flutter open, at first vampire blue then fades to hybrid black....
Cast
Trivia
- The movie was entirely filmed in Budapest, Hungary. The story itself takes place in Budapest.
- The movie 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 their World of Darkness setting: 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. [1] A PDF file of White Wolf's filing can be read here: [2] In September 2003, a judge granted White Wolf an expedited hearing; this was the last White Wolf's press releases had to say about the case. [3] Given that there has never been any further news of this case, and Sony has proceeded to release DVDs and a sequel, it is possible that it was settled out of court under terms that prohibited any further discussion of the matter.
- Amy Lee of Evanescence sang in some of the songs by Renholder, but her voice was cut off the official soundtrack, due to legal problems with her record company.
- Director Len Wiseman opted to shoot several action scenes live, without the use of computer generated imagery. One such scene involves the Lycan Lucian seemingly running at high speed behind a speeding car. The scene was shot with actor Michael Sheen running upon a heavy cloth which was in turn being towed by the car he was chasing.
- No special audio effects were used to alter Kevin Grevioux's voice. Grevioux's voice is naturally that deep.
- Actor Scott Speedman won the Face of the Future Saturn Award for his role as Michael Corvin.
- The name of the main character, Selene, is indicated in Greek mythology as being associated with the moon.
- The name "Michael Corvin" was the name used in the teaser trailers on the tombstone of Ashe, the lead character of The Crow: City of Angels. This trailer is available on some VHS versions of The Crow.
- Kevin Grevioux has stated the character of Selene is partially based on the Marvel Comics X-Men villainess of the same name.
- One of the most famous taglines is:When The Battle Begins Which Side Will You Choose.
Sequels
The follow-up story, Underworld: Evolution, was released January 20, 2006. Another film is also planned. It will be a prequel and it will be released in 2009.
Soundtrack
External links
- Underworld at IMDb
- Underworld: Evolution at IMDb
- Underworld Official Site
- Kate Beckinsale interview for Underworld
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