Vampires versus werewolves: Ladies and gentlemen, step right up and watch the undead try and kill each other. In the red corner, the previously undefeated rulers of the undead; sexy and decadent — the vampires. Facing off against them in the blue corner, their former slaves, thought hunted to extinction, but secretly making a comeback: they're furry and barbaric with vengeance on their minds — The Lycan.
The movies Underworld and Underworld Evolution introduced audiences to a world where vampires and werewolves had been at war with each other for centuries. While the vampires had believed that their former slaves had been hunted nearly to extinction, treachery and deceit by an ambitious second in command had actually allowed the werewolves to flourish in secret.
In fact, they were more than flourishing. Under the guidance of their supposedly dead leader, Lucien (did I mention betrayal among the vampires?), they were in the process of creating a super being who combined the powers of the two species. To the vampires, believing as most of them do that werewolves are inferior beings, the thought of mixing the blood of the two races was an abomination that mustn't be allowed to happen.
Underworld Evolution, much as the title implies, takes us on the first step down the road with the new species, as the two heroes from the first movie — Michael the mix blood and Selene the vampire, who has fallen in love with him — have to take on the originators of both species, Marcus and William Corvinus, twin brothers with a difference. One of them is a werewolf and the other a vampire. Way back when, in the dark ages, they started it all.
The movies were really well done and great visual treats. Although slightly over the top on occasion, they were highly entertaining and quite a lot of fun. A perfect mixture of horror movie gore, love story, and plain old fashioned adventure story, offering a new and interesting take on the world of the undead. What really made them so successful was the matter of fact way in which both species and their world was dealt with. It made it very easy as an audience member to suspend your disbelief and accept the reality the film makers had created.
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