Dark action vampire & werewolf film/ music video worthwhile on the big screen

Rating: Null/10 (20 September 2003)

This evening we caught the 10:10pm showing of the new film UNDERWORLD, which opened today. We went to see this at the Lowes Theatre at City Walk in Universal City's City Walk. The film begins with a near rip-off subway system scene recalling a certain MATRIX movie... complete with double-gun holding, sunglass wearing, trench coat / black slick attire. The film is shot in a similar manner as Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow in the washed out color and the dim lighting.
The sound was so loud, however it worked well. I noticed all foley/ sound effects and music had a much higher volume setting thsan the rest of the audio track and this was a great emphasis on the action of the story. Once the movie went beyond the Matrix parts and the typical plot set up, the movie became interesting since at first I was feeling dis-satisfied.
The music, which was supervised by Danny Lohner of Nine Inch Nails and composed by Paul Haslinger of Tangerine Dream, set the film on an excellent path and perfected all of the transitions and nervous energy perfectly!!! The music featured within the entire soundtrack blended so well with all incidental / background sounds and effects that it did not come at you off-base or thrust you out of the film to think about it for too long.

HOWEVER... the sets, costumes and hair were so perfected... 125%, that your focus shifted from the story and onto how dressed the sets were or how the hair was or the attire. Less is more sometimes even when you have to "go all the way". I did enjoy the mood it created, but just a pinch off may have worked more in their favor as well as the lighting, that I mentioned above, may have taken away from the spilled blood and its possible contrasts or the furnishings of the dwellings.
Underworld is the directorial debut feature film for Len Wisemen, a music video director, who wrote the story with Kevin Grevioux, who played the character, Raze in the film and Danny McBride, who also wrote the original screenplay. I hope this team works together again... and I just have a tiny feeling they are in the midst of working on something new very soon!
If you are looking for an action film with a bit of vampire and werewolf business, and you enjoy films such as The Matrix, Blade and the look of the Nine Inch Nails video The Perfect Drug, this film may just be up your dark alley!
(It gets quite a few so-called goth points as well!)