Underworld: Awakening

Underworld: Awakening (also known as Underworld 4) is a 2012 American 3D action horror film directed by Måns Mårlind and Björn Stein. It is the fourth installment in the Underworld film series, with Kate Beckinsale reprising her role as Selene. Sandrine Holt, Michael Ealy, and India Eisley have been cast in roles new to the series. Filming began in March 2011 in Vancouver, British Columbia. It was released in Digital 3D, IMAX 3D and 2D theatres on January 20, 2012.

Plot

Six months after the events of Underworld: Evolution, Selene (Kate Beckinsale) was captured by humans during the purge, when she and Michael were planning on leaving. Eventually both government officials and the public learn about the existence of vampires and Lycans. A crusade and all-out war has begun: study and eradicate. After being imprisoned in cryogenic suspension for 12 years, Selene manages to escape the facility. During the same time, another subject has also escaped the same facility that Selene was in. That subject was Eve (India Eisley), her hybrid daughter who is the key to ending the war by "curing" vampires and Lycans of their "infection". After escaping she sees flashes of someone's point of view and, believing it is Michael, she follows the flashes, leading her down into a garbage chute. She confronts a young vampire named David (Theo James) who has been following her, when they realize that Lycans live there underground. Seeing flashes of Lycans hunting the person she is connected to, she eliminates many of them until they flee and she confronts the being who is not Michael, but Eve after getting her out of the tunnels. They are chased in a van by the three Lycans and after a lengthy chase Eve rips one Lycan's head in half while David and Selene shoot and stab the other two. On the way Selene realizes that Eve is not healing from a wound she suffered during her fight and is growing weak. David takes them to his coven.

At the coven most of the vampires are less than thrilled that David brought the infamous Selene the lover of a Lycan to their coven, especially his father. However, they agree to help the weakened child which they soon realize is due to her not feeding in a long time. After drinking some blood her wound heals and Selene, after seeing Eve's eyes after the feeding, sees that she has Michael's hybrid eyes and realizes she is her's and Michael's daughter. Seeing that the coven does not want her there, she gets ready to leave. David, not wanting her to leave, tries to convince her to stay and help them start an offensive against the humans by training some into Death Dealers. Before she makes up her mind the coven comes under attack by Lycans who were thought to be almost extinct. The vampires are slaughtered one after another until Selene joins the fight and kills many of the Lycans. She has David take Eve to safety while she deals with the rest of the Lycans. Going to the main hall of the coven, she comes upon a massacre of mostly vampires with few Lycan corpses and fights an 18 foot tall super Lycan which is more than 4 times the size of any other Lycan. Fighting it with a silver bladed weapon she breaks a piece off on its back, and is shocked to realize that it heals instantly and that the silver had no effect. She is knocked out and awakens later to find that David's father gave Eve to the Lycans to placate them into leaving. David dies after confirming this and his father blames Selene for all that happened, before Selene cuts a hole into David's heart and uses her blood to restart his heart. She then confronts a human detective named Sebastian to confirm her suspicions of the corporation dedicated to killing off the immortal species.

After seeing the evidence Selene discovers that the corporation is actually run by the Lycans - who have been posing as humans in order to trick the world's governments into believing the Lycans are extinct - and that they intend to use Eve to perfect their race and develop immunity to silver, thus allowing the Lycans to conquer both vampires and humans. Seeing the dangers Selene and the Detective team up to stop them and save Eve. Killing the Lycan guards with silver gas grenades and silver bullets, she comes across Subject 0, realizing it is Michael and, being short on time, shoots the glass to weaken the containment unit in order to free Michael before going to stop the Lycans from leaving with Eve. Using her incredible strength she flips the van and then comes face to face with the Super Lycan again, whilst Eve fights the Lycan doctor that held her. Eventually Selene goes down a hallway where the Super Lycan cannot fit, forcing it to morph back into a human, allowing Selene to impale him with her arm. Withdrawing her arm, the Super Lycan still heals instantly but Selene is counting on this and throws a grenade pin at him. Realizing too late that she has put a grenade inside him, the super Lycan claws in vain at his stomach before it explodes, killing him, while Eve rips out the throat of the Lycan doctor. Going back inside they find that Michael's cryo tank is empty; Eve then gets a flash of the roof where they go, but Michael is no where in sight. Selene states that the world will be hunting Michael just as they hunted Eve.

Cast

• Kate Beckinsale as Selene
• India Eisley as Eve, a hybrid; daughter of Selene and Michael Corvin. The Lycans intend to use her DNA to make themselves immune to silver and to have the vampire's ability to heal.
• Theo James as David, a vampire; son of Thomas. Killed by a Lycan during an attack in the coven and later revived by Selene.
• Michael Ealy as Detective Sebastian; he was once married to a vampire. Witnessed his wife burn by sunlight when the government conducted a door-to-door extermination. Helped Selene rescue Eve.
• Stephen Rea as Dr. Jacob Lane; the head scientist of Antigen. Secretly a Lycan and the father of Quint.
• Charles Dance as Thomas, a vampire; Father of David
• Sandrine Holt as Lida
• Kris Holden-Ried as Quint; the Super Lycan. Son of Dr. Jacob Lane. The first test subject of Antigen. He has the ability to heal and is immune to silver.
• Robert Lawrenson
• DJ Miller as Lycan #1
• Ron Wear as Jack Fletcher
• William Francis as Police Officer
• Daniel Boileau as Lab Worker #3
• Panou as Old City Cop #1
• Adam Greydon Reid as Alan
• Julia Rhodes as Antigen Tech
• Jeff Sanca as Truck Driver
• Benita Ha as Surgical Nurse
• Christian Tessier as Guard
• Jesse Branden Dahl As Vampire #1
• Marvin Duerkholz as Leroy

Scott Speedman, who appeared as Michael Corvin in the first two films in the series, announced that he would not be reprising his role for the fourth installment. He did appear in archived footages from the first and second film and a stand-in's portrayal in a distance and later an unconscious state.

Production

"It’s like putting your wedding dress on, or putting your school uniform on, it’s like a time-warp feeling."

—Kate Beckinsale, about her return as Selene.

Filming began in March 2011 at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia. Underworld: Awakening is one of the first movies to be shot using RED EPIC digital cameras in 3D.

Music

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was released to digital outlets on January 17, 2012 by Lakeshore Records, most of the songs are remixed by Danny Lohner, in the soundtrack are the bands: Evanescence, Linkin Park, The Cure, Lacuna Coil, Aesthetic Perfection and more.

1. "Made of Stone" (Renholdër Remix) - Evanescence
2. "Heavy Prey" - Lacey Sturm of Flyleaf feat. Geno Lenardo
3. "Blackout" (Renholdër Remix) - Linkin Park
4. "Apart" (Renholdër Remix) - The Cure
5. "Killer & a Queen" - Stella Katsoudas of Sister Soleil feat. Geno Lenardo
6. "Watch Yourself" (Renholdër Remix) - Ministry
7. "Trip the Darkness" (Ben Weinman Remix) - Lacuna Coil
8. "Young Blood" (Renholdër Remix) - The Naked and Famous
9. "It Rapes All In Its Path" - Black Light Burns
10. "The Posthumous Letter" - William Control
11. "How’m I Supposed to Die" - Civil Twilight
12. "Consolation Prize" - & SONS
13. "Liar" (Revenant mix by 8MM) – 8MM
14. "You Won't See The Light" - Ryan T.Hope of The Lifeline feat. Geno Lenardo
15. "Bottle of Pain" - Combichrist
16. "Intruder" – Collide
17. "Exit Wounds" (Justin Lassen Remix) - Justin Lassen feat. Silent Fury

Score

Underworld: Awakening (Original Motion Picture Score)
No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Purge"
2.	"Underworld Awakening Main Titles"
3.	"Raiding the Army Surplus Store"
4.	"Non-Human Aggressor"
5.	"I Was Subject 2"
6.	"Arriving at the Coven"
7.	"I’ve Never Seen a Child Like This"
8.	"This Is Not One of Us"
9.	"I Know Exactly What You Are"
10.	"If You Knew Him As I Did"
11.	"Prepare the Armory"
12.	"The Uber-Lycan"
13.	"Reanimation"
14.	"Then Came the Purge"
15.	"Selene Returns to Antigen"
16.	"Find Her and Destroy Her"
17.	"The Lycan Van Escape"
18.	"I Heal Instantly"
19.	"You Came Back"
20.	"Reclaiming the World"
21.	"The Melancholy of Resistance"
22.	"A New Dawn"
23.	"Corner (Justin Lassen Remix) - Blue Stahli"
24.	"Under Your Skin (Deadbeat Remix) - Aesthetic Perfection"
25.	"Sunrise - Angelspit"

Critical Reception

The film received generally negative reviews from film critics. As of January 21, review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a score of 24% based on 33 reviews. Movie review website The Filtered Lens gave the film a negative review citing that "if you try and pay attention to the plot you will get a headache". However, they did note that the action was well done and said it was the goriest of the series. Film critic Chris Pandolfi viewed the film positively, especially compared to the first two in the franchise, saying "although it’s about as lasting as dust in the wind, I think it represents what the series should have been right from the start: An escapist supernatural action thriller that gives us license to put our brains on autopilot."

External links

• Official website
• Underworld: Awakening at IMDb