Editorials
Looking Back on the Gothic Action-Horror of the ‘Underworld’ Franchise
Despite having similar mythological origins, Vampires and Werewolves are behind one of the most iconic rivalries in media. There are countless books, movies and games that pit these legendary creatures against each other, and everyone has their own opinion on which is the superior monster (I’ve always been firmly on team Werewolf). Today, however, I’d like to explore one of the most iconic takes on this ancient feud by looking back on the insanely popular Underworld franchise and how it reshaped these myths for an ever-evolving audience.
The 2000s were a good time to be a fan of action-horror blockbusters, seeing the rise of R-rated franchises like Resident Evil and the Blade sequels. Knowing that audiences were hungry for more bloody thrills, it’s no surprise that Lakeshore Entertainment would end up investing in a gothic passion project by the unlikely trio of Len Wisemen, Kevin Grevioux and Danny McBride. Proposing a complex mythology detailing an ongoing war between Vampires and “Lycans”, the trio wowed producers with their original pitch, and with a final draft completed by McBride, Underworld finally leapt off the page in 2003.
An international co-production, Underworld was a strange beast, combining the gothic thrills of classic vampire flicks with modern-day action and a gritty sci-fi twist. While the slick photography and exaggerated costumes made it clear that this was a case of style over substance, the surprisingly in-depth lore behind the screenplay wouldn’t have been out of place in a Role-Playing Game. This makes sense, as the producers were eventually sued by White Wolf Inc. due to the film’s similarities to their World of Darkness setting, though the case was ultimately settled out of court.
Regardless, even during that peculiar wave of leather-clad post-Matrix action flicks, Underworld managed to stand out by providing audiences with a fresh take on monster movies and a badass female protagonist. Kate Beckinsale was perfectly cast as the Lycan-hunting vampire Selene, torn between her loyalty to her masters and a newfound love interest in Michael Corvin, played by Scott Speedman. As viewers accompany Selene down the rabbit hole, the film jumps from one bloodthirsty action sequence to the next, always boasting remarkable practical effects and wirework.
The Wolfman on steroids.
Produced on a 22 million dollar budget, Underworld became an unexpected hit, ultimately raking in over 95 million at the box office. While critics weren’t crazy about it, audiences absolutely adored the classy aesthetics and kickass soundtrack (which features an incredible remix of David Bowie’s Bring Me the Disco King by Danny Lohner), not to mention Beckinsale’s memorable performance as a veteran Death-Dealer. Naturally, she would end up becoming one of the most badass leading ladies of the 2000s, rivaled only by RE‘s Milla Jovovich.
The rest of the cast is also impressive, with Bill Nighy gleefully chewing through scenery as the Elder Vampire Viktor and Michael Sheen leading the Lycan rebellion as Lucian (years before becoming a vampire in the Twilight franchise). Kevin Grevioux himself also makes an appearance as Raze, one of the film’s most memorable Lycans. Luckily for fans, despite a few gruesome character deaths, this wouldn’t be the last time that we’d see this curious ensemble on the big screen.
Having successfully jumpstarted a franchise, Wiseman and company soon returned to this world of ultraviolet bullets and rebelling Lycans with 2006’s Underworld: Evolution, a sequel that takes place almost immediately after the first film. While it’s an equally stylish endeavor, with Selene and Michael on the run from Elder Vampires as they uncover the secret origin of both Vampires and Lycans, the movie suffers from trying too hard to be bigger and more action-packed than its predecessor.
Even so, the convoluted script and bloated budget couldn’t keep Evolution from becoming yet another box office success. Critics still refused to warm up to the series, but general audiences appreciated the return to neo-gothic melodrama and balls-to-the-wall Vampire vs Werewolf action. While the film serves as a somewhat definitive conclusion to Michael and Selene’s story, its success meant that we would soon see another entry in the franchise with the 2009 prequel, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans.
Same monsters, new setting.
Patrick Tatopoulos‘ prequel suffers from having its main plot points spoiled by flashbacks in the previous films, but it’s still my favorite entry in the franchise, focusing on the origin of the conflict between enslaved Lycans and tyrannical Vampires in medieval Europe. While Beckinsale is appropriately absent from the prequel (except for a final zinger), both Michael Sheen and Bill Nighy reprise their roles from previous films and are clearly having a great time doing so. The timeline might not completely add up and the pacing is a little choppy, but the exaggerated action and fresh setting make this one of the most thoroughly entertaining films in the series.
The same can’t be said for 2012’s Underworld: Awakening, a movie that was meant to be Beckinsale’s long-awaited return to the franchise. It’s undoubtedly great to see Selene once again mowing down ferocious Lycans with specialized weaponry in a dystopic future (this time unaccompanied by Scott Speedman), but the film really drops the ball with some excessive CGI and low-effort backstory. There are still some legitimately thrilling set pieces as Selene attempts to protect her hybrid daughter from the clutches of an evil organization, but the sanitized atmosphere and decreased focus on practical monsters make this entry less interesting than the films that came before.
Despite even more negative reactions from critics, Awakening was successful enough to warrant another sequel in 2016 with Underworld: Blood Wars, the final film in the franchise. Unfortunately, this one is only marginally better than its predecessor, doubling down on questionable CGI and insanely convoluted mythology in order to tell a generic story. In this one, Selene is being hunted by surviving Vampire and Lycan clans who each need her for their own nefarious reasons. Like Awakening, Blood Wars features almost none of the original Underworld team behind the scenes, resulting in a loosely-fitting cap to a once-memorable franchise.
Like all the Underworld films before it, Blood Wars was financially successful, but it also proved that the series had run its course. Without the original creative team backing these productions, there was little reason to continue making them. It’s now been five years since Blood Wars, and despite rumors of the contrary, it seems unlikely that the Underworld franchise will be undergoing a resurrection anytime soon.
I can’t be the only one that misses these monster battles.
Looking back on these movies, it’s clear that they weren’t all masterpieces, but I’ll be the first to defend their commitment to style and gruesome action. Even when the scripts didn’t make much sense, a lot of effort was put into the look and feel of these films, as well as the choreography behind the memorable monster battles. The Underworld Lycans are some of the best practical Werewolves in media, and it’s a shame that later entries traded in the costumes and puppets for cheap CGI.
Beckinsale’s Selene was also a truly iconic character in her own right. While some fans viewed her as nothing more than a leather-clad sex symbol, her arc was a lot more complex than most folks seem to remember. Her feminine traits were never ignored in favor of traditional action hero tropes, but she also routinely showed up to save her confused love interest, a rare twist on the usual damsel in distress formula.
The Underworld franchise may have been a roller-coaster ride when it comes to quality, but I’ll always have fond memories of those fleeting glimpses into a world dominated by Vampiric intrigue and monstrous mutations. Revisiting these movies, I realized that it’s been a long time since audiences have been graced with stylized gothic action on the big screen, and with Resident Evil getting a fresh start in Johannes Roberts’ new film, I’d also love to see a return to the grimy streets of Underworld. After all, the Vampire vs Lycan war is far from over, and there will always be more dark stories to tell.
Tales from the Crypt has been influential in keeping EC Comics alive in the public conscience, even after going off the air thirty years ago. That classic horror show pulled from multiple stables within the iconic comic publisher, but it also didn’t adapt everything. Even the ones the producers did pick weren’t always faithfully retold on screen.
So while it might seem like Tales from the Crypt covered plenty of EC Comics’ works, a lot still remains unadapted.
These ten great stories would have made fine additions to the series.
“Bats in My Belfry!” (Tales from the Crypt)
When an actor named Harry began to lose his hearing, a friend put him in contact with a special “doctor”. After receiving the gift of super-hearing—a taxidermist implanted a bat’s auditory system inside of Harry—the protagonist learned about his wife’s affair. On top of that, she and her paramour were planning to kill Harry. Of course, they didn’t realize Harry had transformed into a humanoid vampire bat.
Something Tales from the Crypt didn’t do enough of, on account of whatever reason (budget and time restraints seem most likely), was stories about monsters. But Crypt once had the best contacts in the business, so you can bet that were-bat would have been in good hands.
“The Beast of the Full Moon!” (The Vault of Horror)
Tom and his girlfriend, June, were fearful of the werewolf who’d been on a recent murder spree in their area. Tom already suspected his brother Andrew, who may have been infected after a trip to Corocoa. And when Tom had an encounter with the werewolf, he stabbed the creature’s right paw before it could flee. Later, Tom’s suspicions were all but confirmed when he saw Andrew’s bandaged right hand.
So, Tom laid a trap for the monster—a pit—, and he waited nearby with a gun full of silver bullets. One thing led to another, and Tom ended up in the pit with the werewolf. Luckily, someone above shot and killed the beast. That’s when Tom saw Andrew above ground and June in the pit, the latter dead from her gunshot wound.
While Tales from the Crypt did have lycan episodes, like “Werewolf Concerto” and “The Secret”, there was still room for one more. With the comic having such a small cast, though, it may have been too easy to figure out the culprit. But surely someone on staff could have punched up the original story for television.
“Pipe Down!” (The Haunt of Fear)
Lila hated her older husband, Andrew. After beginning an affair with a handyman named Howard, Lila plotted Andrew’s death. She and Howard got away with Andrew’s murder, but now they couldn’t marry for a year; otherwise, it would look suspicious. In the meantime, Lila purchased a pet monkey that was born on the same day that Andrew died.
When Howard found what looked like evidence of Lila having another lover—he spotted a lit cigar and two half-empty glasses—Howard flew into a rage and murdered his girlfriend. That’s when the cops arrived, saying a phone operator reported the disturbance. However, all she heard on the other end of the phone was an animal’s shriek. Once Howard was arrested, Lila’s monkey went back into the house, picked up a book, and smoked a pipe. Just like Andrew used to do.
This story would have fit in with the wackier episodes of Tales from the Crypt. There are quite a few of those—especially later on as the series moved away from the more macabre material. “Pipe Down!” also spices up the typical adultery-and-murder plots that were so common in EC’s output.
“Swamped” (The Haunt of Fear)
Deep in the Okefenokee Swamp, a cannibalistic hermit fed on those who traveled near his shack built over the water. He fed on visiting hunters and then disposed of their remains beneath his home. Anyone who revolted or came after him only ended up in the quicksand. Finally, though, the hermit suffered the same fate as his victims; he, too, slipped into the muddy graveyard below his crumbling shack. Yet now waiting for him were the hungry souls desperate to get back at their killer.
It’s unclear who the writer was behind “Swamped”, but their work here is intense. The insight and colorful descriptions are unexpected for that mere tale of the cannibal who got his just desserts. That kind of writing, along with Reed Crandall‘s artwork, makes this one of the most engaging stories from EC’s horror run.
“The October Game” (Shock SuspenStories)
Mitch, a deeply resentful and growingly mad father and husband, hosted his young daughter’s Halloween party. Kids and other parents soon all piled into the basement. The night of fun then ended with one last parlor game: Mitch passed around the body parts of a witch (an arm, her heart, and so on). One of the young guests assumed these were really things like chicken innards.
Mitch’s wife, Louise, looked for her daughter among the crowd, wondering if Marion was scared. That’s when Louise realized the girl wasn’t there—or alive. She begged everyone not to turn on the lights in the basement, out of fear of them seeing what Mitch had done to her poor daughter. Unfortunately for Louise, her plea was in vain.
Tales from the Crypt usually refrained from child-endangered stories, and it much rather focused on adult characters. But the show also lacked Halloween entries, apart from Season Six’s “Only Skin Deep“. Perhaps the need for Halloween, as a validation of any eerie goings-on, was unnecessary.
This Ray Bradbury adaptation (originally a short found in Weird Tales) is well deserving of a read. It’s a glowing example of suspense storytelling. The comic also never shows a lick of violence, yet it feels incredibly violent.
“Strictly from Hunger” (The Vault of Horror)
A posse of men stood before a cave, awaiting something horrible inside. One of the men, Doc, explained the uncanny and dangerous creature; he’d seen it before. Doc told everyone about how his patient, Pete, was diagnosed with a malignant, cancerous lump on his arm. There was nothing Doc could do to help him. Pete then sought assistance from an old witch in the mountain. Using magic, she made sure Pete would never die, although his cancer remained intact and unhealed.
Over time, the cancer cells in Pete’s body consumed all his healthy cells. To keep living, Pete turned into a giant blob that ate others’ healthy cells. Back in the present story, the posse fought the emerging creature until it retreated into the cave. The characters all finally blocked the entrance to prevent Pete from ever escaping again.
Obviously, Tales from the Crypt didn’t have the budget to support a story like this one, but imagine if it did. A body horror episode of this degree could have been fantastic, not to mention outright disgusting.
“Marriage Vow” (The Haunt of Fear)
Martin and Eva’s marriage was no longer a happy one. Eva, who’d become controlling and slovenly a few years after their wedding, refused to let Martin out of her sight. “Till death do us part,” she would always say. Eventually, Martin killed Eva; he loosened the wrought iron bars on the balcony where Eva liked to spend time, and she fell to her death. However, Eva didn’t stay dead, as she came back as a zombie intent on honoring the “till death” part of their vows.
EC did more than its fair share of stories like “Marriage Vow”, as did Tales from the Crypt. Spousal murder was pretty common. This comic, though, delivers a strong implication as the zombified wife tells her husband to “come to bed”. That line makes a reader’s imagination run wild.
“Dog Food” (Crime SuspenStories)
A prisoner named Tom swore revenge on the warden, Lester, after a fellow prisoner was tortured and killed under his command. However, to get past Lester’s voracious guard dogs, so that he could enter his house and kill him, Tom started saving meat from his meals. The other prisoners also contributed to his collection.
Tom set off on his journey to Lester’s dog-guarded house, but he ran out of meat before reaching his destination. So, Tom did the next best thing and fed parts of his own body to the dogs.
Once again, Reed Crandall elevated a gruesome, vengeful story with his realistic style. It’s so lurid. At any rate, it was just too graphic for Tales from the Crypt to adapt—and that’s really saying something here.
“Master Race” (Impact)
Carl Reissman was on a subway, remembering his “bloody war years” in Germany. Even after a decade had passed, he remained paranoid. And as he spotted a certain other passenger coming his way, a man in all black, Carl became afraid and started running. His mind flashed back to the events of the Holocaust during this “chase”.
Finally, before Carl fell on the tracks and in the path of an oncoming train, he revealed he wasn’t a prisoner in a concentration camp; he commanded one. The stranger in black said to those onlookers, asking what happened; he didn’t even know the victim. This Carl had simply run from him on the platform.
While Tales from the Crypt did occasionally go beyond what was available in their more horror-centric source material—the war-themed Two-Fisted Tales, for instance—it didn’t ever go near Impact. This short-lived series is considered toned down for EC. Even still, that didn’t make “Master Race” any less shocking. It’s a potent entry that wouldn’t have fit in with the Tales from the Crypt show we now know, but nonetheless, it’s a thought-provoking piece of storytelling.
“Forty Whacks!” (Crime SuspenStories)
A twenty-two-year-old woman named Fanny was frustrated by her parents; they flipped out when she put on makeup. However, when the daughter discovered a mysterious hatchet in her attic, she became possessed by a strange power and did the unthinkable. One after the other, Fanny used that hatchet to kill her parents.
The detective assigned to Fanny’s case was interrupted by his wife and son. The former had an out-there theory: the hatchet belonged to the infamous Lizzie Borden, and it was now capable of causing children to kill their own parents. The detective didn’t buy his wife’s idea, but that was until his entranced son picked up the murder weapon and took a swing at his pop.
Here, EC dipped into historical crime for a ghoulish story that sounds like something out of Friday the 13th: The Series. Maybe it’s a bit in bad taste, but that has never stopped Tales from the Crypt—which is why we love it.
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