Directed by: Patrick Tatopoulos
Rating: ★★★
Bleak, dark and sexy. What more do you expect from a film about vampires and werewolves? For those of you who may not know, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans is a prequel to 2003’s sleeper hit Underworld and it’s follow up Underworld Evolution, so it covers no new ground- just a sub-plot from the first film that was briefly mentioned as the motive for a characters crusade of vengeance.
If you haven’t seen the first two films then this film will seem original and intriguing, although you may find yourself lost in a sea of pre-established characters and codes for this already well developed alternative reality. But whether or not you have seen the other films, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans is a stylish action/horror that you can sink into and lose yourself in for an hour and a half- that is if you enjoy fast paced action, gory horror and sexy vampires.
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| Rhona Mitra is incredibly sexy as Sonja. |
Set hundreds of years ago, a community of vampires living within a huge castle in an undisclosed European country decide to use werewolves as their slaves. Now this is where the tricky definitions appear: werewolves are vicious monstrous beasts transformed from humans into overgrown canines. Lycans are werewolves that can control their transformations and can change back to human form, keeping their humanity, logic and thoughts intact while they are in wolf form. If you don’t understand that, think it is stupid or don’t care, then maybe you should stop reading now and not bother to watch the film. It is, after all, the only bit of thinking you have to do throughout the course of the entire film, but if it is too much for you then maybe horror just isn’t your thing. For the rest of you: werewolves are too dangerous to vampires and so are forced into the forests, whereas Lycans are kept within the citadel as slaves.
Lucian (Sheen), the very first Lycan, is the trusted and valued leader of the Lycans, and he works for Viktor (Nighy), the ‘big daddy’ and ruler of the vampire world. But what Viktor doesn’t know is that Lucian is having an illicit affair with his smoking hot vampire daughter Sonja (Mitra), which is seen as an abomination as the two races should never get too intimate with one another. A very strong Romeo and Juliet love theme quickly develops, and when impending doom suddenly embraces the lives of those within the fortress, Lucian decides that it is time the Lycans made a stand for themselves, cast off their shackles, and be free to live life how they want.
Filled with many racial analogies and sword-wielding violence, I don’t think I have ever seen an action film make such a profound point before. Perhaps I was reading too much into it, but even so the film works on many different levels and makes it even more enjoyable.
With good performances from all the central roles, including screen siren Rhona Mitra, who burns up every scene with her incredible sexiness, served alongside a healthy dollop of gore and monster slaying, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans does exactly what it says on the tin. Although the plot would seem strange to someone who has no idea about the films that preceded it, and there are a few slow scenes too many, overall the film is an interesting paint-by-numbers action film. Saying that, there is a very unexpected ending, but this twist will only come as a shock for those who have not yet seen the first Underworld film.
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| Lucian will fight for what he believes in. |
The directing is okay, but some of the quick cuts can be confusing and irritating, although the Matrix-like slow motion look cool, but lack originality. The director is trying his best, but can’t compete with the director of the previous films, Len Wiseman, who was much better at building suspense and atmosphere.
So if you want to begin your journey into the world of vampires and werewolves, this is probably the best place to start, as the films that follow it chronologically are well worth seeing. It may be a turn-off-your-brain-sit-back-and-enjoy standard action/horror, but when you have nothing else to watch, what is wrong with that?
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