“I am a Death Dealer.” – Selene
Even though I’m a fan of pretty much all of the genres that exist within the Horror category, the ‘monster movie’ will forever be my favorite. I use the term ‘monster’ to define anything that’s non-human.
It started in my childhood with classics like “Gremlins” and “Ghostbusters”, and continues to this day with what has developed into one of the most entertaining ‘monster’ franchises, “Underworld”.
Summary:
During a secret war between vampires and lycans (werewolves), a vampire Death Dealer, Selene, discovers that the side she has been fighting for the last 600 years may not be as noble as she had once believed.
Starring:
Kate Beckinsale (Underworld franchise, Van Helsing, Total Recall), Bill Nighy (Underworld franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, I Frankenstein) , Michael Sheen (Underworld franchise, Alice in Wonderland)
Watch the Original Theatrical Trailer:
My Review:
There’s two primary reasons to watch this film:
1) The fight scenes between werewolves and vampires = Awesome fun!
2) Kate Beckinsale as Selene.
I’m a big believer that Hollywood needs to write better action roles for women. As a vengeance-seeking vampire, Selene is one of the few characters in the Action-Horror genre that can carry a movie (heck, a franchise) on her back and deliver what the audience is looking for: a hero who can kick some butt!
There are definitely some other great examples of female Action-Horror leads out there too (‘Ripley’ in the Alien franchise and ‘Alice’ in the Resident Evil franchise), and while Selene happens to be my favorite, I’d encourage you to include them all in your Halloween movie list this year.
Best Scene:
The werewolf transformations. This was the first time where I watched a werewolf transform on screen and have it live up to my expectations of the phenomenon.
Scare Meter:
5 ‘chills’ out of 10. Underworld is more good ‘ol monster violence than it is scary (unless, perhaps, your father makes a poor parenting decision and allows you to watch it when you’re too young…yet, another reason why I will never win a “Father of the Year” award).
Best Place to Find:
Underworld is available to rent / stream for $2.99 on Vudu, Amazon and Google Play. However, I believe the entire franchise is worth owning, so my advice is to just purchase the original trilogy for $9.99 (Amazon) and then purchase the most recent release Underworld: Awakenings separately ($6.99 on Amazon). You could also just wait until they release all four movies in a collection…but then you wouldn’t have it to watch this Halloween and what’s the fun in that?
If You Like This Movie, Check Out:
Blade (1998), The Mummy (1999), Resident Evil (2002), Van Helsing (2004), Dracula Untold (2014)
I love the Underworld franchise and I loved this post.
Thanks Marie – I find myself re-watching it at least every couple of years:)