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• 1080p High Definition

• Audio commentary with director Len Wiseman, Kate Beckinsale, and Scott Speedman

• Gag Reel

• Fang vs. Fiction Documentary

• Interactive Menus

• Music video: Finch: “Worms of the Earth”

Special Feature Rating:

A modern gothic tale of forbidden love and betrayal, told through the setting of a centuries-old war between Vampires and Lycans (werewolves), Underworld could in many ways be seen as an updating of Shakespeare’s tragedies. It doesn’t ever reach the level of high literature we have come to expect from the great bard himself, but it still succeeds on many levels.

Admittedly, when I first saw Underworld, I was quite skeptical that it would be much more than another blood and gore horror flick with the central protagonist - in this case Kate Beckinsale as “Selene”, a “Death Dealer” – laying down some major whoop-ass. I was wrong, very wrong. Yes, it has the action, and the gore, and the Vampire/Werewolf lore, but at its heart, Underworld’s themes of forbidden love, honor, betrayal, revenge, and social segregation are universal themes that anyone can understand, and help to take this film beyond your typical Hollywood horror flick.

Kate Beckinsale’s incredible acting skills help sell Underworld as more than just a horror film. Her charisma and magnetism on screen cannot be denied. She’s a much-welcomed departure from the very male dominated, prototypical, testosterone driven action heroes that we usually see on screen in these roles and she plays it to perfection.

I’m not afraid to say I have no doubt in my mind that Underworld will one day be considered a classic in the Vampire/Werewolf genre of films, if it isn’t already.

Story Rating:

Presented in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio, Underworld Unrated Extended Cut is another in an increasingly huge list of superb AVC encodings from Sony.

Originally shot in Super-35 and then scanned at 2k to a digital intermediate where it was manipulated from then on entirely in the digital realm before going back out to print, the film is darkly lit and has an intentionally de-saturated color palette, which was then colored with a blue tint. This is captured accurately throughout. Blacks, blues, grays, and whites look superb.

Picture Rating:

The mix is perfect, and the mastering superb. Right from the beginning, the moody score sets the tone and never lets up, but character dialogue is never lost, and special effects sound smooth, natural, and realistic. There is a beautiful ambience to everything that adds to the drama, and EQ’ing is easy on the ears. This is an audiophile delight.

Everything sounds warm, full, round, and correct. Overall tonality blended perfectly with the look and feel of the film itself, aiding the moodiness and gloom. The mid-range sounded perfect, solid and well balanced. There was ample use of the surrounds, and the LFE channel was used to good effect, never becoming cumbersome.

Sound Rating:

Overall Rating:

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