The actor playing the werewolf Raze is Kevin Grevioux. I had the same thought about his voice when I first saw the movie, but that is, in fact, his real speaking voice. He actually came up with the original premise for the movie and was one of the screenwriters
If Simone hasn't seen the sequels i'd say the 2nd film and the prequel (more Michael Sheen and Bill Nighy) are worth a watch. They're not high art or anything but they're a good time if you like the vibes.
Yeah I agree with this - I LOVEEEE the original trilogy, two is my favourite I think although three is a close second. 4 & 5 are like good afternoon chill movies but nowhere near as good as the other three. 😆
Yeah. The first 3 are perfect together. The 4th and the 5th doesn't bring anything of essential to the story. And since Michael Corvin sadly doesn't appear on the last 2, it feels like "The adventures of Selene". However, I really loved what they did to Selene 's character in the fifth.
I love how unashamed Underworld is with just establishing an absurd amount of lore, for a mid-budget action film that is not an adaptation of an existing IP. It's actually handled surprisingly well.
@@felixfungle-bung4688 maybe??? I don't know about that... but vampire the masquerade came out in 91 and Spawn came out in 92... don't know if werewolves v vampires came out much later... but I wouldn't be surprised if underworld also "borrowed" from Todd... but I think you would hear more complaints from him if that was the case...
@GarmrsBarking Todd's series was Networks 1995. A world where vampires and werewolves are at war. I know Kevin Grevioux used his schooling in genetics to explore the ancestory genetics angle. I'm sure the writers are aware of Vampire Masquerade.
Wealth and sex became associated with vampires from 19th century novels like Dracula and Carmilla. It's amazing seeing all the people in the comments that think Anne Rice invented that.
If we're going deep, vampire legends have always been about sex; the Romantic and fin de siecle writers just canonized it and brought it into the modern vernacular.
Dracula was the prototype of the sexy aristocrat. Dark Shadows was the prototype of the Vampire With A Conscience. Anbe Rice took both and codified it.
Selene's entire get up is so iconic. The suit, the coat, the hair, her guns, everything and most importantly, Kate Beckinsale's performance! Also, Kevin Grevioux, who plays the werewolf Raze and has that incredible voice, came up with the original story that this film is based on. He also created the Marvel character Blue Marvel.
About that big Lycan with a deep voice, when he got into showbiz he was working on a masters in genetic engineering. He's also the writer of the movie's original screenplay, so pretty much the movie was all him.
That's his actual voice. My wife taught at the school his kids attended. He was really involved and a great parent and absolutely sounds like that in real life.
You need to remember in 2003 Bill Nighy and Michael Sheen, while accomplished actors, weren't big Hollywood stars , their deaths weren't that shocking .
This film was my introduction to both, and they were so impressive to me. Bill Nighy in particular took what might have been a cartoonish character and made him imposing.
Bill Nighy is so much scenery-chewing fun in this movie as Viktor. And it's hard to blame him for being so grumpy - poor guy just wanted to finish his nap.
7:10 “when did vampires start living in mansions?” Um, it started with the OG Count Dracula? _Count_ Dracula. Mofo lived in a castle, not even a lowly mansion. And Dracula’s somewhat inspired by Vlad the Impaler who was, y’know, ruler of a whole chunk of Romania. A mansion is honestly a massive step down.
@@raymondamador1487 True. My comment was only about the wealth thing. Though it’d be funny if it’d been the other way around; all vampires being insanely hot hobos. Derelícte! But it was more unsettling to have a Nosferatu-looking creep inexplicably hold some sexual-adjacent power over some attractive young man or woman. It’s certainly less icky when everyone’s a 10/10 smokeshow _and_ rich. Like, yeah, bite whatever you want
Kate Beckinsale looked incredible in that costume. Just a heads up regarding the sequels. Evolution and Rise of The Lycans are brilliant. But Awakening and Blood Wars are abysmal. The lore of these films is fascinating.
What's funny is the actress who plays Erica (the blonde who helps Selene get ready for the party), went on to star as the love interest in a short-lived vampire detective TV show called Moonlight.
@@CineRam The original Sonja was an unknown Hungarian actress they brought in just for that flashback scene. I noticed the switch to Rhona Mitra when they showed Underworld on Netflix a long time ago. I think they did it around the time the prequel movie came out, so people would associate the original scene better with the new movie and actress.
As a 90/00s artifact, I think it should be mentioned how much this owes to the "Vampire: The Masquerade" and related role playing games, which were very popular a few years before this came out. IIRC there was actually a lawsuit from White Wolf Games that I don't think went anywhere.
White Wolf did indeed sue them, and it was settled out of court. I thought it was kind of spurious until Viktor said "Abomination!" when they were talking about the vampire/werewolf hybrid and then I was like "Ope, no there you go, there's your settlement." :D (Abomination is specifically the term for a very rare, unbelievably dangerous vampire-werewolf cross in Vampire the Masquerade/Werewolf the Apocalypse RPGs)
@@Dan-Dillon the first time I saw it I thought an incredible amount was taken from VtM. and it’s my understanding White Wolf sued them and they either settled or got some sort of agreement done. I also felt like the Blade movie also borrowed a lot. But somehow I they slipped under the radar.
*"UNDERWORLD" (2003) is a German -- Hungarian -- U.K. -- U.S. co-production. Most actors/actresses were from the U.K. Kate Beckinsale and Sophia Myles are from England. Bill Nighy and Robbie Gee are "British" actors. Michael Sheen is from Wales and Shane Brolly from Northern Ireland. Scott Speedman [who played Michael Corvin] is Canadian. Austrian actor Erwin Leder played the Lycan scientist. Vampire elder Amelia was played by Hungarian actress Zita Görög. Wentworth Miller and Kevin Grevioux [ who played the big Lycan Raze ] are American actors. Kevin Grevioux also co-developed the story.*
These movies are a product of their time, but OH MAN I love them so much, the lore and worldbuilding is amazing... and Kate is well... the cherry on top.
24:17 They say in the movie that the virus kills most people bitten by either vampire or werewolf, AND that no one had ever survived a bite from both vampire and werewolf. Also, re: Kraven's "American" accent, the actor is Irish, and doing a genetic eurotrash/British accent to mixed results.
Remember they said he was a sole survivor and it was centuries centuries Turning that event into history And then it becoming a legendary story. I doubt the vampires who are not the elders Are too young to know what he looks like.
I also like the terminology used from one Doctor (Michael) to another: "Feels like my head is splitting in two". Nomenclature never sounded so good. :P
Please please please continue to watch the series! The sequel starts directly after this ends and the third is a prequel with a lot of lore and explanation of what was sprinkled in this.
The catsuit is latex the corset, gauntlets ,coat and boots are leather 👍🏻 and Kate kept one of the catsuits. Her machine pistols are beretta 93r with custom compensators 👍🏻
I remember when Prison Break first came on TV here in the UK, the announcer voicing the intro after the ad-break introduced it by saying: 'starring Wentworth Miller, who was also in Buffy...' The man can escape Fox River, but he will never escape Buffy xD
@@Caroline_Tyler *Most actors do blink* Because they don't get extensively trained on firearms. The ones that do like Tom Cruise, Jon Bernthal, Keanu Reeves, and Halle Berry don't blink. I thought that logic would be evident from my comment. Look at the behind the scenes for the movie. The director specifically says they had her trained extensively so Kate Beckinsale would look like the warrior that Selene is supposed to be.
8:41 Late 70s with Interview with the Vampire written by Anne Rice. 80s movies like The Lost Boys definitely helped with the "vampires are not ugly" train of thought.
10:43 Correct, Simone. Wentworth Miller was in a single episode of Buffy. He's also in every episode of Prison Break. Just if you wanted to check that out. When the series first aired, fans created a forum called the First Church of Wentworth Miller. Moderators had to shut it down after people got out of control in their posts while claiming Wenty's body parts.
For the record I would say that while the aesthetic really gained momentum with stories like Interview with a Vampire, the whole Sexy Vampire vibe goes back to at least 1872 with the Gothic novel Carmilla, which predates Dracula AND has lesbian vampires in it.
Someone else claims earlier with some poem. from the 1700's. This is why finding the first is impossible when every idea is built upon other ideas before.
"When did this aesthetic begin?" Rich vampires were from Bram Stoker. Before "Dracula" vampires were ghoulish beasts that lurked in shadows and graveyards like stray wolves. Stoker was drawing a parallel between the ruling class in the severe wealth inequality in Victorian Europe with the bloodsucking undead. "When did vampires become sexy" succubi and incubi and various other monsters that feed on humans by mimicing sexually attractive humans are in the folklore of nearly every culture. In Greek mythology there are beasts like Lamia and Sirens that have the bodies of apex predators like wolves or large birds of prey, but look and sound like beautiful women from the waist up, so as to lure human males into being their next meal. But again, vampires did not traditionally have incubus/sucubus abilities until Bram Stoker Of note, vulnerability to sunlight was a trope that Stoker did NOT use. That was invented by "Nosferatu" the unofficial/knock-off movie adaptation of his book. There are scenes in the book and Coppola's movie with Dracula walking around in broad daylight.
Love when Simone drops a Buffy reference...we will get George to the slayer-fest one of these days. I mean, with his reactions to the just outfits in this movie - 7 years of Buffy, Cordelia. Willow, Faith and many others are right in his wheelhouse.
Apparently Kate Beckinsale convinced the director Len Wiseman to cast her partner at the time - Michael Sheen - in the movie but during the production Kate and Len got together that led to them marrying in 2004. So, there was some competition for her in the leather outfit 😁
Like another director/actress couple whom together push their choice of IP beyond it's welcome and pretty much limit the actress's ability to invest in other options while still a 'thing'.
I finally now understand underworld or at least the first movie It's a retelling of Romeo and Juliet combining the bloodlines and the priest and Romeo and Juliet wanting to combine the families I just never noticed that before until now
My personal favorite depiction of a vampire, which does keep to this trope of them being rich pricks, has to come from the Good Intentions. Basically in that series they are viewed as the supernatural version of cockroaches. Additionally, they get odd the older they get as they tend to get stuck in the fashion and mindset of whenever it was they were turned from a human into vampire. That is why you see "Viking-vampires" at shindigs in Miami act just like a Viking would act back in the day. Still I will let the author's words from his first books warning sum up for me as to how they are depicted: "consistent abuse of vampires (which is always comedy) ."
The first three Underworld movies are very good. The second movie is a continuation of Michael and Selene's story. While the third is the prequel, which is set in medieval times, goes into great detail explaining everything, and you get to see more of Amelia.
In modern time, I think the "sexy vampires" thing started with Ann Rice's Lestat books and mainstreamed by the movie adaptation of "Interview With The Vampire".
Since Simone likes TTRPGs like D&D, the game Vampire: The Masquerade has a lot in common with this movie. So much so, the publishers of V:TM sued the makers of this movie and it was settled out of court. It's a great game full of political intrigue.
"when did vampires become sexy" - they were mythologically often associated with sex, and as a metaphor for forbidden desire. It was really solidified by Polidori and the "Vampyre" novel in the early 19th century, and then Bram Stoker's interpretation. In movies, Bela Lugosi changed that image to a charming powerful aristocrat, rather than an animalistic presentation like Nosferatu was.
I agree about earned vs unearned love scenes in films. That's why I didn't mind the one in Wonder Woman. After all the time they'd been together, mutually saving each other, it made sense that Diana would be attracted to Steve Trevor.
It's kinda funny how George always gives recaps for the people that skip the intro. No other channels do. And this is the only reaction channel where I don't skip the intro.
Honestly the Underworld series is probably my favorite vampire/werewolf related movies. Cheesy I think at times but I really love the lore and world building.
29:22 Vampire Elder Amelia is played by Zita Görög, a Hungarian actress and supermodel. Even her small role created enough fan interest that she was added in a flashback scene in the sequel.
Also, if you think the leather would cause problems, there was a scene in an independent film I worked on where there was dialogue during a sex scene in a storage room where the actors were using actual bubble wrap as blankets.
Fat thighs in jeans make more noise than I ever did wearing leather pants in the 80's/90's. Maybe people should try real leather before such statements. :P
@CineBinge the building drop is a practical effect. They built a rig to rapidly slow towards the end of the fall, allowing the stunt double to absorb the impact. Then quick cut and insert Kate to walk out of it.
46:00 You are correct George. The original trilogy was a love child of some fans who created this lore/dynamic. The surprising reception to the first movie enabled the story to be continued. As suggested by some others in the comments, the next movie continues the plot, with the prequel adding further explanation for the lore and story.
movie trivia - (at around 37 mins) The 'attack dogs' outside of the vampire mansion were actually very docile and playful canines, which were the only dogs available at the time. For the scene where they chase Scott Speedman, director Len Wiseman had to film short clips of the dogs running and later put in sounds of vicious barking. If you look closely though you can see their tails happily wagging back and forth. - (at around 28 mins) Len Wiseman opted to shoot many of the action and effects sequences live, without computer imagery. In one scene, for instance, a werewolf seems to run more than 50 mph behind a speeding car. This was shot using an elaborate rig towed behind a vehicle, with actor Michael Sheen doing the closeups of the running and the jump onto the car, while the long shot of Lucian running was done by stuntman Todd Schneider. - (at around 1h 27 mins) Although Lucian is the lead Lycan, he only ever shifts once into his full werewolf form, and that's in a flashback scene. - In the newly released 2017 4k remaster of Underworld, the scene where Michael recounts the events of Sonja's demise when he speaks with Lucian in the film is replaced with the actual scene from Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009) instead of the original flashbacks used in the 2003 version. - A kiss between Michael and Selene (when she unchains him in Lucian's lab) appears in the trailer but was not included in the theatrical release or on the DVD, but it is on the unrated version of Underworld. - The creators of the series approached Marvel Studios about doing a crossover with the Blade franchise, with Wesley Snipes presumably reprising his role. Marvel declined, saying they wanted to leave the door open to do something with Blade on their own terms. - At the time of the first film, Kate Beckinsale had been mostly doing period pieces and playing lovely girls. She took the role to shake the image a little. The success of this and Van Helsing turned her into an Action Girl in the 2000s. 2016's Love & Friendship (2016) is a return to her period roots
Having worn Selene's costume on several occasions, it's one of the first cinematic uses of Datex, latex bonded to polymaide/lycra (yeah I read the care tag) so it can be sewn along seams instead of folded and glued....and you can hear the fabric swishing against your skin as you move, and Beckinsale's noises in the making of documentary.
Vampires were made sexy in the Victorian era starting with Bram Stoker, prior to that they were confined to the kind of superstitious monsters that were part of various folklores.
Incorrect. The modern vampire boom began with Baron Ruthven in The Vampyre by Polidori, and was followed (most famously but not exclusively), by Varney the Vampire, and Carmilla. They were all very charismatic and sexually alluring. There's a whole literary history of vampire fiction before Dracula!
The methods are no different than most films and literature ─ a vampire can kill their victim or turn them into a vampire, just as lycans can kill their victims or turn them. 16:03 Erika said to Selene, _"You're going to try to turn him, aren't you?"_
That big black Lycan (werewolf) dude is not playing around with his voice. That actor's voice is that deep. He speaks like that on the regular in real life. -OG
George: "Blarst" is only a _southern, upper-class_ British accent. Up here in t'north and over most of the country, we say "blast". if Sean Bean was using his natural Sheffield accent, he'd say "blast".
Working-class southerners too! But yes, anyone from the midlands upward shortens the vowel and when reactors say “British accent” they really only mean southeast England. I always feel a bit miffed on behalf of the rest of Britain when I hear “British” accent.
@@EnglishRalph is southeast england not part of the british isles? its part of britain so its a british accent. just like if you hear cali or new york or bible belt, its all american accents. its a category, who the f goes out of their way in casual conversation to specify region. thats just weird.
@ I wasn’t suggesting that reactors should say “Upper-class, southeast England accent” but in my experience that is almost always what they mean and my reply was to a statement specifically about regional accents, which was in response to George talking about differing vowel sounds, so it would have been kind of weird not to specify a region. But saying “English” accent would at least narrow it down to a single country. They don’t mean Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish. In the olden days, we would’ve called it “BBC English” because the news presenters all had to sound “proper”.
The catsuit isn't leather. If I understand correctly, it's actually spandex with a vinyl or PVC spray coating. Though I have no idea what her boots and corset are made of.
43:25 I'm just glad they didn't go with the "no-sell" trope, where when the hero attains some power up, suddenly the enemy attacks have literally no effect on them. Think of Superman in BvS, when Batman's kryptonite gas wore off and Batman's punches stopped even budging his face. I think what inspired the no-sell trope is old Hulk Hogan wrestling matches, where he'd suddenly seem to go down for the count, but then he'd get a boost from audience cheers and make a comeback, and just shrug off his opponents punches like they were nothing.
Loved Simone's thing about George not being ready... I have only seen this 1 single movie...I may try picking up the other 2 on DVD sometime in the Future... Enjoy George!! If White Wolf ever made a Movie...
As your going to learn about werewolfs. The werewolf progenitor was a wild rabid beast and so all he infected were like him. The vampires had to hunt them down or be overrun. Lucian is literally a new generation of werewolf, he is sane and kept his intellect.
I recommend Company of Wolves for some pretty cool werewolf transformations. Also - the trick where Selene shoots out a circle in the floor around her feet had previously been done in The Long Kiss Goodnight - you guys should see that one sometime!
What you watched is not the original cut of the film that was released in theaters. This is the updated one with Rhona Mitre's face added into the memory sequence. There's some other very, very subtle changes but nothing that alters the original films storyline.
![[FULL] RETROSPECTIVE : Final Fantasy Tactics](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/RUBmYqs1jZ0/mqdefault.jpg)
The actor playing the werewolf Raze is Kevin Grevioux. I had the same thought about his voice when I first saw the movie, but that is, in fact, his real speaking voice.
He actually came up with the original premise for the movie and was one of the screenwriters
Simone may or may not know, but Kevin Grevioux was an extra in the first two seasons of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. You can't unsee it.
Kevin is also a comic book creator also
He voices black beetle in young justice.
Imagine him working on a Call Center or reading you a bed time story. lol
Is it just me or did that guy play a Mangalore in the 5th Element?
"If you enjoyed this reaction, Lycan subscribe!"
So bad it's good.
just ❤
as an actual dad, I approve of this Dad joke. 😅
If Simone hasn't seen the sequels i'd say the 2nd film and the prequel (more Michael Sheen and Bill Nighy) are worth a watch. They're not high art or anything but they're a good time if you like the vibes.
If the pace was a little faster both of those movies would be pretty good.
Yes, the first three Underworld movies make a great trilogy!
You really should skip the movies after that.
Yeah I agree with this - I LOVEEEE the original trilogy, two is my favourite I think although three is a close second. 4 & 5 are like good afternoon chill movies but nowhere near as good as the other three. 😆
The prequel is the best of the series.
Yeah. The first 3 are perfect together. The 4th and the 5th doesn't bring anything of essential to the story. And since Michael Corvin sadly doesn't appear on the last 2, it feels like "The adventures of Selene".
However, I really loved what they did to Selene 's character in the fifth.
I love how unashamed Underworld is with just establishing an absurd amount of lore, for a mid-budget action film that is not an adaptation of an existing IP. It's actually handled surprisingly well.
@4:56 I wish Vampires could hear a train when it's further than 'in your face'. :P
nah... they've taken a lot of inspiration from the tabletop role-playing games Vampire: The Masquerade and Werewolf: The Apocalypse...
@GarmrsBarking I believe Todd McFarlane had a toy series of werewolves v vampires based on characters from Spawn.
@@felixfungle-bung4688 maybe??? I don't know about that... but vampire the masquerade came out in 91 and Spawn came out in 92... don't know if werewolves v vampires came out much later... but I wouldn't be surprised if underworld also "borrowed" from Todd... but I think you would hear more complaints from him if that was the case...
@GarmrsBarking Todd's series was Networks 1995. A world where vampires and werewolves are at war.
I know Kevin Grevioux used his schooling in genetics to explore the ancestory genetics angle.
I'm sure the writers are aware of Vampire Masquerade.
Wealth and sex became associated with vampires from 19th century novels like Dracula and Carmilla. It's amazing seeing all the people in the comments that think Anne Rice invented that.
Can't blame them they were kids reading Anne Rice before classics
If we're going deep, vampire legends have always been about sex; the Romantic and fin de siecle writers just canonized it and brought it into the modern vernacular.
It goes back to Baron Ruthven in Polidori's 'The Vampyre' (1819). An iconic short story/novelette which began the modern vampire trend.
Dracula was the prototype of the sexy aristocrat. Dark Shadows was the prototype of the Vampire With A Conscience. Anbe Rice took both and codified it.
It's been the subtext of the stories since they began.
Selene's entire get up is so iconic. The suit, the coat, the hair, her guns, everything and most importantly, Kate Beckinsale's performance!
Also, Kevin Grevioux, who plays the werewolf Raze and has that incredible voice, came up with the original story that this film is based on. He also created the Marvel character Blue Marvel.
she is literal perfection
Grevioux also wrote the comic book of I, Frankenstein, which became one of the worst movies ever made,
Nostalgia critic made fun of leather outfits noises in his Matrix review , 9 year ago , about 32 min YT clip at 17 min mark
Yes, her "performance" lol
In all seriousness though, she excellent
About that big Lycan with a deep voice, when he got into showbiz he was working on a masters in genetic engineering. He's also the writer of the movie's original screenplay, so pretty much the movie was all him.
That's his actual voice. My wife taught at the school his kids attended. He was really involved and a great parent and absolutely sounds like that in real life.
We NEED that Underworld: Evolution reaction now!
You need to remember in 2003 Bill Nighy and Michael Sheen, while accomplished actors, weren't big Hollywood stars , their deaths weren't that shocking .
This film was my introduction to both, and they were so impressive to me. Bill Nighy in particular took what might have been a cartoonish character and made him imposing.
whhhaaa???
You reminded me of Peter Fonda whom does die in several films - of course back then film was different from the safe space - wannabe edgy stuff today.
Please watch Rise of the Lycans. In my opinion the best Underworld movie. Its all about the story of how the war started.
Yaaaaaaaaaasssss! ❤❤❤
Yes! Rise is the culmination of the Underworld series, and the subsequents film should be skipped
Bill Nighy is so much scenery-chewing fun in this movie as Viktor. And it's hard to blame him for being so grumpy - poor guy just wanted to finish his nap.
7:10 “when did vampires start living in mansions?”
Um, it started with the OG Count Dracula? _Count_ Dracula. Mofo lived in a castle, not even a lowly mansion. And Dracula’s somewhat inspired by Vlad the Impaler who was, y’know, ruler of a whole chunk of Romania. A mansion is honestly a massive step down.
Right, but Vampires didn't get sexy until Interview with a Vampire and Queen of the Damned. Before then, all Vampires were ugly
@@raymondamador1487 True. My comment was only about the wealth thing. Though it’d be funny if it’d been the other way around; all vampires being insanely hot hobos. Derelícte!
But it was more unsettling to have a Nosferatu-looking creep inexplicably hold some sexual-adjacent power over some attractive young man or woman. It’s certainly less icky when everyone’s a 10/10 smokeshow _and_ rich. Like, yeah, bite whatever you want
@ferchrissakes True 💯
Count Dracula was super sexy. He seduced females and mind controlled all humans.
10:43 I like how Simone went to Buffy and I thought "Forgot Wentworth was in this before Prison Break and Legends of Tomorrow."
Kate Beckinsale looked incredible in that costume. Just a heads up regarding the sequels. Evolution and Rise of The Lycans are brilliant. But Awakening and Blood Wars are abysmal. The lore of these films is fascinating.
I agree. The first three movies make a great trilogy. The following movies are, sadly, crap.
What's funny is the actress who plays Erica (the blonde who helps Selene get ready for the party), went on to star as the love interest in a short-lived vampire detective TV show called Moonlight.
Everyone talks about how hot Kate Beckinsale is in this movie (and understandably so), but I had a serious crush on Sophia Myles after seeing it, too.
And was Miranda is Mass Effect.
@@davidbeyerle6996 that's Yvonne Strahovski
@@nocturneJOJO yep!
I loved Moonlight! I have the DVD.
I never knew they edited the flashbacks to put Rhona Mitra in them.
Was she not in the movie, originally?
No
@@CineRam The flashback originally had Jázmin Dammak as Sonja, they replaced it with the scene from Rise in the 2017 remaster.
@@CineRam The original Sonja was an unknown Hungarian actress they brought in just for that flashback scene. I noticed the switch to Rhona Mitra when they showed Underworld on Netflix a long time ago. I think they did it around the time the prequel movie came out, so people would associate the original scene better with the new movie and actress.
Huh. Fortunately I have the original movies on DVD, so don't have to tolerate the George Lucas'd versions.
As a 90/00s artifact, I think it should be mentioned how much this owes to the "Vampire: The Masquerade" and related role playing games, which were very popular a few years before this came out.
IIRC there was actually a lawsuit from White Wolf Games that I don't think went anywhere.
White Wolf did indeed sue them, and it was settled out of court. I thought it was kind of spurious until Viktor said "Abomination!" when they were talking about the vampire/werewolf hybrid and then I was like "Ope, no there you go, there's your settlement." :D
(Abomination is specifically the term for a very rare, unbelievably dangerous vampire-werewolf cross in Vampire the Masquerade/Werewolf the Apocalypse RPGs)
@Dan-Dillon Well, I assume if White Wolf got any real money from them there wouldn't be 5 sequels (or how ever many there are).
i still play that :)=
tabletop of course ;-)
@@Dan-Dillon the first time I saw it I thought an incredible amount was taken from VtM. and it’s my understanding White Wolf sued them and they either settled or got some sort of agreement done. I also felt like the Blade movie also borrowed a lot. But somehow I they slipped under the radar.
Tim Bradstreet's monochrome images from the original books were absolutely iconic.
*"UNDERWORLD" (2003) is a German -- Hungarian -- U.K. -- U.S. co-production. Most actors/actresses were from the U.K. Kate Beckinsale and Sophia Myles are from England. Bill Nighy and Robbie Gee are "British" actors. Michael Sheen is from Wales and Shane Brolly from Northern Ireland. Scott Speedman [who played Michael Corvin] is Canadian. Austrian actor Erwin Leder played the Lycan scientist. Vampire elder Amelia was played by Hungarian actress Zita Görög. Wentworth Miller and Kevin Grevioux [ who played the big Lycan Raze ] are American actors. Kevin Grevioux also co-developed the story.*
"We put the bullets back" is maybe my favorite line in this.
That line clued me in the vamps r the villans
All the years I've watched you guys, at 4:42, that's the most "Canadian" I've ever heard Simone react before lol She was genuinely excited lol
I like Underworld 3 (Rise of the Lycans) the most, it's in the Middle Ages and it's great.
way too short though
Underworld 3 is great and, yes, possibly the best film in the series, but that sex scene is hilarious.
These movies are a product of their time, but OH MAN I love them so much, the lore and worldbuilding is amazing... and Kate is well... the cherry on top.
"product of their time" -- AKA the late 90s-mid 00s, AKA one of the great periods of genre cinema.
@@ThreadBomb Small libraries lack historical context.
She actually gives it so much more gravity than it deserves! Without Kate, this would have felt much more trashy, I feel like.
24:17 They say in the movie that the virus kills most people bitten by either vampire or werewolf, AND that no one had ever survived a bite from both vampire and werewolf.
Also, re: Kraven's "American" accent, the actor is Irish, and doing a genetic eurotrash/British accent to mixed results.
Remember they said he was a sole survivor and it was centuries centuries Turning that event into history And then it becoming a legendary story. I doubt the vampires who are not the elders Are too young to know what he looks like.
I just realized that the doctor Lycan that George calls Mengele is Edwin Leder who played Johann, the chief engineer in Das Boot.
Never realized that
I also like the terminology used from one Doctor (Michael) to another: "Feels like my head is splitting in two". Nomenclature never sounded so good. :P
Please please please continue to watch the series! The sequel starts directly after this ends and the third is a prequel with a lot of lore and explanation of what was sprinkled in this.
The catsuit is latex the corset, gauntlets ,coat and boots are leather 👍🏻 and Kate kept one of the catsuits.
Her machine pistols are beretta 93r with custom compensators 👍🏻
This movie was on repeat in my household during my middle school years. Even 20+ years later, it's so much fun to watch.
I remember when Prison Break first came on TV here in the UK, the announcer voicing the intro after the ad-break introduced it by saying: 'starring Wentworth Miller, who was also in Buffy...'
The man can escape Fox River, but he will never escape Buffy xD
I'd say an early sexy vampire is Geraldine in Coleridge's poem Christabel, which he began in 1797.
Ah yes.. Kate B. as Selene - the character that spawned millions (many, many millions) of adolescent crushes.
I actually liked her in Serendipity but this movie sealed it for me.
I still rub one out to her
I love how Kate Beckinsale traind herself not to blink when firing off her guns. so cool.
You mean was trained. Most people who get extensively trained with firearms don't blink.
@@Jaslath Most actors do blink, I applaud Kate for her dedication to look kick-ass!
@@Caroline_Tyler
*Most actors do blink*
Because they don't get extensively trained on firearms. The ones that do like Tom Cruise, Jon Bernthal, Keanu Reeves, and Halle Berry don't blink. I thought that logic would be evident from my comment.
Look at the behind the scenes for the movie. The director specifically says they had her trained extensively so Kate Beckinsale would look like the warrior that Selene is supposed to be.
Oh good you saw the interview clip! He's also the writer or co-writer! Very interesting dude.
8:41 Late 70s with Interview with the Vampire written by Anne Rice. 80s movies like The Lost Boys definitely helped with the "vampires are not ugly" train of thought.
"this is a very frank miller shot." Well it was a comic book originally.
I absolutely adore how this movie uses almost exclusively practical effects due its relatively low budget.
10:43 Correct, Simone. Wentworth Miller was in a single episode of Buffy. He's also in every episode of Prison Break. Just if you wanted to check that out. When the series first aired, fans created a forum called the First Church of Wentworth Miller. Moderators had to shut it down after people got out of control in their posts while claiming Wenty's body parts.
For the record I would say that while the aesthetic really gained momentum with stories like Interview with a Vampire, the whole Sexy Vampire vibe goes back to at least 1872 with the Gothic novel Carmilla, which predates Dracula AND has lesbian vampires in it.
Someone else claims earlier with some poem. from the 1700's. This is why finding the first is impossible when every idea is built upon other ideas before.
"When did this aesthetic begin?"
Rich vampires were from Bram Stoker. Before "Dracula" vampires were ghoulish beasts that lurked in shadows and graveyards like stray wolves. Stoker was drawing a parallel between the ruling class in the severe wealth inequality in Victorian Europe with the bloodsucking undead.
"When did vampires become sexy" succubi and incubi and various other monsters that feed on humans by mimicing sexually attractive humans are in the folklore of nearly every culture. In Greek mythology there are beasts like Lamia and Sirens that have the bodies of apex predators like wolves or large birds of prey, but look and sound like beautiful women from the waist up, so as to lure human males into being their next meal.
But again, vampires did not traditionally have incubus/sucubus abilities until Bram Stoker
Of note, vulnerability to sunlight was a trope that Stoker did NOT use. That was invented by "Nosferatu" the unofficial/knock-off movie adaptation of his book. There are scenes in the book and Coppola's movie with Dracula walking around in broad daylight.
I think Interview with a Vampire also pushed us in the direction of the current depiction of vampires as decadent decay.
You must watch all five movies of this saga.
Love when Simone drops a Buffy reference...we will get George to the slayer-fest one of these days. I mean, with his reactions to the just outfits in this movie - 7 years of Buffy, Cordelia. Willow, Faith and many others are right in his wheelhouse.
I finally started watching Buffy myself, just reached season 3!
@@marctowersap8018 Nice
Apparently Kate Beckinsale convinced the director Len Wiseman to cast her partner at the time - Michael Sheen - in the movie but during the production Kate and Len got together that led to them marrying in 2004. So, there was some competition for her in the leather outfit 😁
Like another director/actress couple whom together push their choice of IP beyond it's welcome and pretty much limit the actress's ability to invest in other options while still a 'thing'.
@@terrylandess6072 Did someone mention resident evil?
I finally now understand underworld or at least the first movie
It's a retelling of Romeo and Juliet combining the bloodlines and the priest and Romeo and Juliet wanting to combine the families
I just never noticed that before until now
I've never noticed Kraven is the only one without a British accent, besides Michael.
39:14 Underworld was the first Vampire movie, that the Vamps didn't have perfect night vision
*The Original Score was written by Paul Haslinger, who is an Austrian musician and composer.*
I actually bumped into Michael Sheen shopping a few years back. Really nice guy who stays true to his Welsh roots
Hope you guys watch all the movies. Personally, my 2nd fav after this one is nr 3. Rise of the Lycans starring Michael Sheen.
They definitely don't need to watch _all_ the movies, just hit the trilogy, have a good time, and keep it movin.
My personal favorite depiction of a vampire, which does keep to this trope of them being rich pricks, has to come from the Good Intentions. Basically in that series they are viewed as the supernatural version of cockroaches. Additionally, they get odd the older they get as they tend to get stuck in the fashion and mindset of whenever it was they were turned from a human into vampire. That is why you see "Viking-vampires" at shindigs in Miami act just like a Viking would act back in the day. Still I will let the author's words from his first books warning sum up for me as to how they are depicted: "consistent abuse of vampires (which is always comedy) ."
The first three Underworld movies are very good. The second movie is a continuation of Michael and Selene's story. While the third is the prequel, which is set in medieval times, goes into great detail explaining everything, and you get to see more of Amelia.
In modern time, I think the "sexy vampires" thing started with Ann Rice's Lestat books and mainstreamed by the movie adaptation of "Interview With The Vampire".
That guy from Buffy is Wentworth Miller, who also starred in Prison Break and had a recurring role in The Flash TV show.
That guy was in one episode of Buffy... and yes, i immediately knew which one (fish boy) the guy was the LEAD in Prison Break for 4 years
Underworld. The movie series in which no one opens a door normally. (No seriously; they always have to be kicked or pushed open).
Since Simone likes TTRPGs like D&D, the game Vampire: The Masquerade has a lot in common with this movie. So much so, the publishers of V:TM sued the makers of this movie and it was settled out of court.
It's a great game full of political intrigue.
Can I tell my "I don't miss anthropes because I don't lycanthropes" joke now?
no
@ThreadBomb Well I did anyway. You could threaten to slap me, but you know that I would like it. What a tangled web we weave.
"when did vampires become sexy" - they were mythologically often associated with sex, and as a metaphor for forbidden desire. It was really solidified by Polidori and the "Vampyre" novel in the early 19th century, and then Bram Stoker's interpretation. In movies, Bela Lugosi changed that image to a charming powerful aristocrat, rather than an animalistic presentation like Nosferatu was.
I agree about earned vs unearned love scenes in films. That's why I didn't mind the one in Wonder Woman. After all the time they'd been together, mutually saving each other, it made sense that Diana would be attracted to Steve Trevor.
It's kinda funny how George always gives recaps for the people that skip the intro. No other channels do. And this is the only reaction channel where I don't skip the intro.
Selene character is based on Marvel character with the same name, who is a basically a Mutant/Vampire.
Just a reminder for the sequel the scientist is a lycan not a human so it’s his blood Marcus is Absorbing.
Honestly the Underworld series is probably my favorite vampire/werewolf related movies. Cheesy I think at times but I really love the lore and world building.
29:22 Vampire Elder Amelia is played by Zita Görög, a Hungarian actress and supermodel. Even her small role created enough fan interest that she was added in a flashback scene in the sequel.
The first 3 Underworld movies are simply amazing
Also, if you think the leather would cause problems, there was a scene in an independent film I worked on where there was dialogue during a sex scene in a storage room where the actors were using actual bubble wrap as blankets.
Fat thighs in jeans make more noise than I ever did wearing leather pants in the 80's/90's. Maybe people should try real leather before such statements. :P
@CineBinge the building drop is a practical effect. They built a rig to rapidly slow towards the end of the fall, allowing the stunt double to absorb the impact. Then quick cut and insert Kate to walk out of it.
46:00 You are correct George. The original trilogy was a love child of some fans who created this lore/dynamic. The surprising reception to the first movie enabled the story to be continued. As suggested by some others in the comments, the next movie continues the plot, with the prequel adding further explanation for the lore and story.
movie trivia
- (at around 37 mins) The 'attack dogs' outside of the vampire mansion were actually very docile and playful canines, which were the only dogs available at the time. For the scene where they chase Scott Speedman, director Len Wiseman had to film short clips of the dogs running and later put in sounds of vicious barking. If you look closely though you can see their tails happily wagging back and forth.
- (at around 28 mins) Len Wiseman opted to shoot many of the action and effects sequences live, without computer imagery. In one scene, for instance, a werewolf seems to run more than 50 mph behind a speeding car. This was shot using an elaborate rig towed behind a vehicle, with actor Michael Sheen doing the closeups of the running and the jump onto the car, while the long shot of Lucian running was done by stuntman Todd Schneider.
- (at around 1h 27 mins) Although Lucian is the lead Lycan, he only ever shifts once into his full werewolf form, and that's in a flashback scene.
- In the newly released 2017 4k remaster of Underworld, the scene where Michael recounts the events of Sonja's demise when he speaks with Lucian in the film is replaced with the actual scene from Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009) instead of the original flashbacks used in the 2003 version.
- A kiss between Michael and Selene (when she unchains him in Lucian's lab) appears in the trailer but was not included in the theatrical release or on the DVD, but it is on the unrated version of Underworld.
- The creators of the series approached Marvel Studios about doing a crossover with the Blade franchise, with Wesley Snipes presumably reprising his role. Marvel declined, saying they wanted to leave the door open to do something with Blade on their own terms.
- At the time of the first film, Kate Beckinsale had been mostly doing period pieces and playing lovely girls. She took the role to shake the image a little. The success of this and Van Helsing turned her into an Action Girl in the 2000s. 2016's Love & Friendship (2016) is a return to her period roots
You definitely need to at least watch the next two!
Should have hit George with "how many times have you watched the simpsons?" 😂😂😂 and fyi i have watched both shows plenty of times 😂
It’s more Blade than Twilight
Yes, to being concerned about finding a leather-clad Kate Beckinsale in your apartment. But also...
Having worn Selene's costume on several occasions, it's one of the first cinematic uses of Datex, latex bonded to polymaide/lycra (yeah I read the care tag) so it can be sewn along seams instead of folded and glued....and you can hear the fabric swishing against your skin as you move, and Beckinsale's noises in the making of documentary.
remember folks, don't forget to Lycan Subscribe
😆😁👍
Keep going with these movies, really brings back my teenage years
I feel like all your sexy vampire questions can be answered by watching "Bram Stokers Dracula" 1992
I now know for a fact that George would absolutely love Legend of the Seeker...the Mord-Sith in particular.
Oh wow, he's a Weresmurf
Vampires were made sexy in the Victorian era starting with Bram Stoker, prior to that they were confined to the kind of superstitious monsters that were part of various folklores.
Incorrect. The modern vampire boom began with Baron Ruthven in The Vampyre by Polidori, and was followed (most famously but not exclusively), by Varney the Vampire, and Carmilla. They were all very charismatic and sexually alluring. There's a whole literary history of vampire fiction before Dracula!
@@ThreadBomb Thanks for the correction
37:23 As someone who was a teenager when this came out, yes, George, exactly that. Watch the second movie too.
I don't care how inefficient it is, if you can dual wield whips you dual wield whips!
The methods are no different than most films and literature ─ a vampire can kill their victim or turn them into a vampire, just as lycans can kill their victims or turn them.
16:03 Erika said to Selene, _"You're going to try to turn him, aren't you?"_
Her superhero landing was perfection ❤
That big black Lycan (werewolf) dude is not playing around with his voice. That actor's voice is that deep. He speaks like that on the regular in real life. -OG
George: "Blarst" is only a _southern, upper-class_ British accent. Up here in t'north and over most of the country, we say "blast". if Sean Bean was using his natural Sheffield accent, he'd say "blast".
Working-class southerners too! But yes, anyone from the midlands upward shortens the vowel and when reactors say “British accent” they really only mean southeast England. I always feel a bit miffed on behalf of the rest of Britain when I hear “British” accent.
@@EnglishRalph is southeast england not part of the british isles? its part of britain so its a british accent. just like if you hear cali or new york or bible belt, its all american accents. its a category, who the f goes out of their way in casual conversation to specify region. thats just weird.
@ I wasn’t suggesting that reactors should say “Upper-class, southeast England accent” but in my experience that is almost always what they mean and my reply was to a statement specifically about regional accents, which was in response to George talking about differing vowel sounds, so it would have been kind of weird not to specify a region. But saying “English” accent would at least narrow it down to a single country. They don’t mean Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish. In the olden days, we would’ve called it “BBC English” because the news presenters all had to sound “proper”.
27:30 Whoa, I never realized that this is where this quote if from. Its used in the beginning of the song Alchemy Sounded Good at the Time by Alesana
The catsuit isn't leather. If I understand correctly, it's actually spandex with a vinyl or PVC spray coating. Though I have no idea what her boots and corset are made of.
43:25 I'm just glad they didn't go with the "no-sell" trope, where when the hero attains some power up, suddenly the enemy attacks have literally no effect on them. Think of Superman in BvS, when Batman's kryptonite gas wore off and Batman's punches stopped even budging his face.
I think what inspired the no-sell trope is old Hulk Hogan wrestling matches, where he'd suddenly seem to go down for the count, but then he'd get a boost from audience cheers and make a comeback, and just shrug off his opponents punches like they were nothing.
Loved Simone's thing about George not being ready... I have only seen this 1 single movie...I may try picking up the other 2 on DVD sometime in the Future... Enjoy George!! If White Wolf ever made a Movie...
This movie ensconced Kate on the Laminated List!
As your going to learn about werewolfs. The werewolf progenitor was a wild rabid beast and so all he infected were like him. The vampires had to hunt them down or be overrun. Lucian is literally a new generation of werewolf, he is sane and kept his intellect.
I recommend Company of Wolves for some pretty cool werewolf transformations.
Also - the trick where Selene shoots out a circle in the floor around her feet had previously been done in The Long Kiss Goodnight - you guys should see that one sometime!
What you watched is not the original cut of the film that was released in theaters. This is the updated one with Rhona Mitre's face added into the memory sequence. There's some other very, very subtle changes but nothing that alters the original films storyline.
Shout-out to Kate Beckinsale's costume designer! 🔥
Underworld.......still a better love story than Twilight ;)
The greatest werewolf transfermation in cinema is from The Howling 1981.
0:45 dont we all?! 😍😅🤣
that guy from "buffy" was in his own show, "prison break", excellent show, well worth your time,
Best superhero landing ever!