Underworld is an action horror film directed by Len Wiseman and written by Danny McBride, released on September 19, 2003. It is based on a story by Kevin Grevioux, Wiseman and McBride. Kevin Grevioux wrote the original screenplay. The film centers on the secret history of vampires and lycans (an abbreviated form of lycanthrope, which means werewolf). It is the first (chronologically, the second) installment in the Underworld franchise. The main plot revolves around Selene (Kate Beckinsale), a vampire Death Dealer hunting Lycans. She finds herself attracted to a human, Michael Corvin (Scott Speedman), who is being targeted by the Lycans. After Michael is bitten by a Lycan, Selene must decide whether to do her duty and kill him or go against her clan and save him. Alongside Beckinsale and Speedman, the film stars Michael Sheen, Shane Brolly, and Bill Nighy.
An international co-production between companies from the United Kingdom, Germany, Hungary, and the United States, the film was released on September 19, 2003. Upon its release, the film received generally negative reviews from critics, but a smaller number of reviewers praised elements such as the film’s stylish Gothic visuals, the “icy English composure” in Kate Beckinsale‘s performance, and the extensively worked out vampire werewolf mythology that serves as the film’s backstory. A surprise hit, the film grossed $95 million against a production budget of $22 million. The film was followed by Underworld Evolution, released three years later, and by three other films.
The film’s soundtrack was produced by Danny Lohner and distributed via Roadrunner Records. Lohner (born 1970), a bass guitarist, guitarist, and keyboardist who has recorded with Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson, contributed several songs to the soundtrack under the pseudonym Renholdër. Lohner included a song by Skinny Puppy, a Canadian industrial band; a song by The Dillinger Escape Plan, a US band which performs an aggressive, technical style of hardcore punk called mathcore; a song by US alternative rock/post-hardcore band Finch entitled Worms of the Earth; a song by The Icarus Line, a band known for its abrasive form of rock music; and Lisa Germano, an American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who specializes in alternative rock and dream pop.
Tracklist:
- Awakening (The Damning Well)
- Rev. 22:20 (Puscifer)
- Throwing Punches (Page Hamilton)
- Rocket Collecting (Milla Jovovich & Danny Lohner)
- Now I Know (Renholdër & Amy Lee)
- Bring Me the Disco King (Danny Lohner Mix) (David Bowie) (featuring Maynard James Keenan & John Frusciante)
- Optimissed (Skinny Puppy)
- Down in the Lab (Renholdër & Amy Lee)
- Judith (Renholdër Mix) (A Perfect Circle)
- Suicide Note (Johnette Napolitano)
- Baby’s First Coffin (The Dillinger Escape Plan)
- Hover (Quiet Mix) (Trust Company)
- Falling Through the Sky (Renholdër)
- Weak and Powerless (Tilling My Grave Mix) (A Perfect Circle)
- Worms of the Earth (Finch)
- From a Shell (Lisa Germano)
- Death Dealer’s Descent (Renholdër)
- On the Lash (The Icarus Line)
- All of This Past (Sarah Bettens)
