TV Times

TV Times

Collision of the House-S of Horror
By Harinda Vidanage
A futuristic battle between the non human entities of Vampires and Werewolves come to life in Underworld. The tradition of vampires and werewolves in Hollywood goes back to the beginning of film, but Underworld takes the myths deeper. Unknown to humanity around them, Vampires and Lycans (werewolves) have been engaged in a centuries-long battle for dominance within hidden sectors of the city.

The new futuristic horror movie much in the line of the Blade series is more action packed, special effect filled and mysteriously appreciated by fans. As the movie topped the charts from the day it was released, made by a debutant much famous for music videos Underworld in its own world is a special. Making his directorial debut, Director Len Wiseman initially gained experience in the film industry through his work in the art department for blockbuster hits Godzilla, Men in Black and Independence Day.

With Wiseman’s gifted ability to design soon had him behind the lens directing commercials for PlayStation, Time Warner, Oracle, Intel and Activision, quickly leading to a career in music videos. A host of award nominations have left a quite distinct trail, including Best Art Direction at the 2002 MTV Awards for Quarashi’s “Stick ‘Em Up” and Best Director at the 2002 MVPA Awards for the Rufus Wainwright video “Across the Universe.” In addition, Wiseman has directed groundbreaking music videos for Megadeath, En Vogue, Static X, Paul Oakenfold and Brooke Allison.

Loosely mimicking “Romeo and Juliet” Underworld is the story of a fateful romance between Selene (Kate Beckinsale) and Michael (Scott Speedman). Selene is a vampire warrior that is on the hunt for Michael and his rare blood which is so special it can save the vampire race from extinction. In the midst of this ongoing struggle, Selene discovers a Lycan plot to kidnap a young human doctor. After shadowing Michael through the city, she forms an unprecedented bond with him, and when the Lycans make their next move, Selene is there to fend off their vicious assault.

As she races to save Michael and unravel the Lycan intrigue surrounding him, Selene discovers a secret that has terrifying repercussions for both tribes a nefarious plan to awaken a new invincible species of predator that combines the strengths of both creatures and the weaknesses of neither, which threatens to tip the balance of power in favor of the werewolves, who have been on the losing end of the struggle for centuries.

The movie is not a super star studded caveat but it has a bunch of dedicated artists including talented British and Irish actors. Kate Beckinsale plays the lead as Selene the Vampire Warrior, who in 2001, starred opposite John Cusack in Peter Chelsom’s Serendipity for Miramax Films. That same year, Beckinsale also was seen in Disney’s Pearl Harbor, directed by Michael Bay and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. Beckinsale co-starred with Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett and Tom Sizemore which she is very much known for.

But never could ones imagination catch her has a super charged Vampire warrior with all those moves in the lights of Trinity of the Matrix chapters. Fatal magnet of the Vampire queen is Scott Speedman (Michael Corvin) who recently starred in the film Dark Blue with Kurt Russell and Ving Rhames. Set in Los Angeles during the Rodney King trial, this intense police drama was directed by Ron Shelton. But again he is much known for his television appearances in Felicity.

Any futuristic battle field especially for the dark characters needs eye popping environments and action sequences, for a Vampire - Werewolf saga monsters are vital for the recipe but the movie makers have found the man for the job in Patrick Tatopoulos. Best known for his creation of Godzilla, Tatopoulos and his design team had previously collaborated with Wiseman when the director worked in the art department of that film as well as Stargate and Independence Day.

From a combination of CGI technology used in most modern special effect movies from MI 2 to Matrix, to real to life model construction of monsters the movie makers have succeeded in creating an inner world that we humans know little about as a virtual existence component of the real world.

As Jason met Freddy it was the battle of the Titans and when the Creeper returned this season it was the time of respiratory system suspension. When two scary worlds collide it makes the human establishment tremble in fear as the fortunes of humans will be decided by the conqueror of the two but for the humans the fate and result would make no difference, only the love of a Vampire Queen to a human holds the key to alter the balance. So be prepared to tour the Underworld.

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