The UNDERWORLD movies have been those vampire films in the past few years that have sought of been under the radar, but yet made enough money to be a success to garnish it’s self into a trilogy. Just the other day I was discussing with a colleague of mine how the UNDERWORLD films are your basic gothic vampire film that were made with the effects of the MATRIX, but actually had a decent story backing it up. With all the vampire films out there that seem to be one half dozen of the other; what the UNDERWORLD films have going for them, is that they not only carry a decent story with well developed characters. They pack a pretty good punch when it comes to great action sequences as well.
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans is the third installment in the franchise, but it is in fact the first story in the trilogy. The movie takes place before present day, in which seems to be around the time of the dark ages. The Vampires are in power and seem to control the lands around them. They capture men who are Lycans and use them as slaves to do their dirty work, while keeping them from turning them into their werewolf shape by wearing collars that have a silver lining of sorts. One Lycan slave named Lucian ( Michael Sheen) seems to form a bond with the Vampires and it’s leader Viktor ( Bill Nighty) . Lucian and Viktor’s daughter Sonja (Rhona Mitra) form a bond and soon become secret lovers. It’s forbidden for a Vampire and a Lycan to fall in love, but that is what happens. The two form a close bond, and it’s that love that makes Lucian rise up against the vampire army and form his army of Lycans and men to fight against the Vampires and rule the lands.
I personally think that Underworld: Rise of the Lycans is the weakest film of the trilogy. Don’t get me wrong it does have a decent script and a story that is easy to follow, but that’s where I feel the films weak point is. We pretty much know how the story is going to turn out when we go into this one, I just didn’t expect it to be explained to us from the get go in such a simple manner. The script is decent, and the character development is not half bad as is the dialogue. But the story is not a complicated one and it’s very predictable.
The overall production value and acting are fair. I’m not going to go out on a limb and say that anyone particular performance stood out among the rest as I felt the cast did a decent job in an effort to portray their characters. The production value didn’t seem to be as good as it was in the first two films, but it held it’s own. Its a movie that you can tell was shot primarily on a sound stage in front of a green screen. The Set design is not half bad, but it all seems to blend together as one big painting, and the visuals seem to have this bluelish/black look the whole time. The Lycan effects are nothing special and they really do look computer generated. They looked better in the first two film, and I found that they looked a bit similar in effect to the werewolf’s in VAN HELSING.
The DVD I reviewed came as a trilogy pack which included all three films. Each DVD has a bunch of different features, The UNDERWORLD : EXTENDED CUT DVD includes Director and Cast Commentary, Fangs Vs. Fiction featurette and more. The UNDERWORLD: EVOLUTION DVD includes Director and Filmmakers’ commentary, the Hybrid Theory – Visual Effects, The War Rages On – Stunts, and more. THE RISE OF THE LYCANS DVD includes a featurette about The Origin of the Feud, Re-creating the Dark Ages: The Look of Underworld: Rise of the Lycans.
overall, UNDERWORLD: RISE OF THE LYCANS is a decent movie. It has it’s positives and its negatives, but overall is a simple film that one can get though and at least enjoy it for what it’s worth. I think this film will appeal more to fans of the franchise and fans of vampire films in general than it would to the normal horror fan. But it’s worth checking out if you happen to have enjoyed the other two UNDERWORLD movies and if you enjoy movies with a lot of action packed sequences and epic battle scenes.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
