Underworld: Evolution

[voilodian ghagnasdiak]

I watched U:E last night being the sci-fi / horror addict that I am. It is a very good movie compared to others of the same gendre and year of release. The special effects are incredible considering all of the transformations from man to monster involved. The backdrops and settings are excellent also, lots of old castles and forest scenes.There is even a beautiful,buxom young modern day Vampirella type character in the leading role. I find the actors of present a little less delivering than the actors of old, but I would imagine that the special effects take away from the character.
Anyone that loves Vampires and Werewolves must see this movie.

[devilchicken]

Hmmm... I've not seen it yet, I found the first movie to be rather better than perhaps it has the right to be. But still... I have a hard time getting around the goth subculture crap - which I find to be horribly cliche these days.

Leather catsuits and long trenchcoats are all well and good except when they are worn by overweight, over made-up 30 somethings in Camden Town.

[lemec]

did this movie topic just appear? how did I miss this earlier? -strange-the workings of a shifting multiverse. :Danyway, I saw Underworld: Evolution in the theater, I always liked werewolves too, and been fond of Vampires, even before I played that Vampire card game years ago. It was a good experience. I need to watch it again, I remember a couple things brought up questions, but that would lead to spoilers. It was good for what it was, but I agree that all vamp movies now go with the Goth theme too often and now it's always how vampires are portrayed. Before Blade, remember that vampire tv series they put out a few year ago?- that had potential, but it was just like the role-playing game with you diffeent clans and so forth. The Nosforatu guy and the main guy Julian and his mentor were pretty cool, and I think it was a Spelling? production, so there were a couple hot, very hot women in it. Spike is going to have a Blade tv series, are you gonna watch that?

[devilchicken]

I think we're overdue for another version of Dracula (sans the horrible Keanu Reeves who murdered Francis Ford Coppola's effort), or perhaps a remake of "The Hunger", that was a good one, with David Bowie.

These vampire action are all well and good if they weren't following the model set down by Buffy the Vampire Slayer. As usual the imitators and copycats are several years behind the real innovators.

[devilchicken]

That movie was so..... baaaaaaad! Really quite awful.

[voilodian ghagnasdiak]

I know that the story (or lack of ) is lame as hell, but I would rather watch vampires and werewolves disembowelling people and each other than watch Everybody Loves What's is Face or Fwiends or Bob Villa or ....Ah shit you know what I mean. Theres not that much out there at present. I hope you didnt rent that movie thinking it was something special. Its just that I would rather watch sci-fi and horror flicks above anything.

[devilchicken]

Well as I said I thought the first one was better than it had the right to be - the odds were extremely against that sort of movie rising above the cliches and actually putting forth a decent, well told story.

Not only did this have a dire script (which is really the crucial thing at the end of the day), the direction was terrible. It was more like Xena with Goths.

Even some of the CGI work left a great deal to be desired. Still it wasn't as bad as Van Helsing, but it certainly wasn't much better.

[L'Etranger]

Vampires and such! How did you guys like "Interview with the Vampire" then (excluding another discussion about Tom ughh Cruise)?

[johneffay]

It was more like Xena with Goths.

Xena with Goths would be excellent in my opinion. I didn't think UE was that good...

[Morgan Kane]

Xena with Goths ? I would like to watch ......

[devilchicken]

Vampires and such! How did you guys like "Interview with the Vampire" then (excluding another discussion about Tom ughh Cruise)?

I seem to remember it being ok at the time - but then again Neil Jordan is a far better director than Len Wiseman. UE was the movie equivalent of a video-game. Hard rock soundtrack, played against various slow motion action shots ripped straight out of the Matrix (with none of the technical excellence of that film)

In fact I couldn't figure out the point of all the machine gunning apart from making a loud noise - did anyone notice that noone and nothing in the movie was actually killed by bullets. Seemed rather pointless to me. Also I didn't really appreciate (as badly done as it was) the death of the 'villain' at the end. Having a spike rammed through his head and falling into the blades of a helicopter (where you see the Body chopped up into pieces, not unlike what you used to see in Doom (the game) when you killed someone with the rocket launcher.

Vampires are incredibly cliche. I just wish someone would make an interesting (and halfway original) movie featuring them. Referring specifically to The Hunger, by Nick Roeg.

[David Mosley]

I've only seen the original (I use the word to mean 'first' rather than suggesting there's anything 'novel' about it) Underworld movie on DVD. It was no better or worse, nor contained anything different from countless similar movies I've seen over the years, not even Kate Beckinsale's ass covered in tight shiny PVC, since Carrie Anne Moss got there first in The Matrix...
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...oh sorry, mind seems to have wandered for some reason. :)

Anyway, haven't seen the U:E dvd at a price cheap enough to make me want to pick it up sight unseen, but alarm bells started to ring when I learned that both Bill Nighy and Michael Sheen were returning for the sequel. I know vampires never stay (un)dead, but it seems to indicate a lack of imagination to resurrect your characters from the original.

IWTV was okay - saw it at the cinema in '95 never having read Rice's source novel, but I wouldn't buy the dvd ever. It was a little anaemic for my tastes (apart from the 'bookends' with Christian Slater's interviewer).

[Hawksun]

I didn't really like U:E. I was more horrified by the acting than the gore. I'm not a big fan of horror movies, as I can't understand the attraction of paying three or four quid just to be scared out of my life, or spending two hours permenantly on edge, like when I rented Interview with the Vampire on DVD.

That said, I loved The Lost Boys when I saw it at the cinema last week. The acting's nothing special, but the script was fantastic, and the comedy/horror mix meant that I enjoyed it an awful lot more than either U:E or IwtV.

[zxvasdf]

I didn't really like U:E. I was more horrified by the acting than the gore. I'm not a big fan of horror movies, as I can't understand the attraction of paying three or four quid just to be scared out of my life, or spending two hours permenantly on edge, like when I rented Interview with the Vampire on DVD.

That said, I loved The Lost Boys when I saw it at the cinema last week. The acting's nothing special, but the script was fantastic, and the comedy/horror mix meant that I enjoyed it an awful lot more than either U:E or IwtV.

Check out Near Dark, Evil Dead 2, Army of Darkness, Dead Alive, and Bad Taste (the last two movies are vintage Peter Jackson... also check out Meet the Feebles which isnt a horror movie but worth mentioning).
IMHO Near Dark is the better vampire movie than The Lost Boys

Quite personally, I believe horror movies of the 80s are the best. Granted the 80s was rampant in bad taste, from fashion to ethics, but the movies are excellent

[devilchicken]

I didn't really like U:E. I was more horrified by the acting than the gore. I'm not a big fan of horror movies, as I can't understand the attraction of paying three or four quid just to be scared out of my life, or spending two hours permenantly on edge, like when I rented Interview with the Vampire on DVD.

That said, I loved The Lost Boys when I saw it at the cinema last week. The acting's nothing special, but the script was fantastic, and the comedy/horror mix meant that I enjoyed it an awful lot more than either U:E or IwtV.

Yes the acting was indeed horrible. I just couldn't get over how much the movie might as well have been a video game. Especially that scene where the Vampire bat guy was flying in front of the truck. And the direction of some of the action scenes - just horrible.

I didn't mind the first one too much - to their credit they did create a good mythology, just a shame they pissed it all away. In its way this is as bad (if not worse) than Highlander 2, where they ditched the whole first movie to justify a sequel.