Underworld vs. Resident Evil

2012 will be host to a number of franchise sequels and spinoffs. But aside from big budget epics like The Dark Knight Rises, The Avengers, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, The Expendables 2, and so forth, there are also sequels to two modestly successful horror franchises on tap.

Next week, Underworld: Awakening marks the fourth entry in the Underworld franchise, while later this year sees the release of Resident Evil: Retribution 3D, the fifth installment in the video game movie franchise. Neither franchise is particularly well-loved by critics, but that doesn't stop fans from turning out each time.

As it turns out, the Underworld and RE movies have a number of similarities in terms of storylines, directorial style, and marketing. In this feature we examine those similarities, what makes these movies so consistently successful and then ask you to vote on your favorite:

Both the Underworld and Resident Evil franchises hinge on similarly mysterious, ass-kicking heroines. All four Underworld movies star Selene, a vampiric Death Dealer who fights both against and alongside the werewolf Lycans. Aside from the prequel Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, which followed a different heroine, Kate Beckinsale has starred as Selene in the series.

The Resident Evil films all star Milla Jovovich as Alice, a former employee of Umbrella Corp. who was experimented upon and now seeks to bring the entire corporation crashing down. There are usually a few thousand zombies standing between her and her goal.

Both heroines have the benefit of enhanced abilities in their quests. Selene is a vampire, while Alice has (or had) an increasingly powerful slate of abilities stemming from the experiments Umbrella performed upon her.



One of the more obvious similarities between the two franchises is the emphasis on iconic monsters of myth and pop culture. In the case of Underworld, the film focuses heavily on vampire and werewolf cultures. The movies offer a distinction between normal werewolves, which are locked into their transformation permanently, and Lycans, which can shift between human and wolf form. The Resident Evil movies, meanwhile, feature zombies and a series of increasingly bizarre bio-engineered monstrosities.

Another shared element is that both sets of creatures have their origins in science fiction rather than the supernatural. The vampires and Lycans in Underworld are the product of a viral pandemic. The creatures in Resident Evil are the result of either Umbrella Corp's T-Virus formula or the naturally occurring Las Plagas parasite.



Love it or hate it, there's a filmmaking style that seems to define both the Underworld and RE films. The films rely heavily on CG effects, which depending on the budget and scale can be somewhat less than convincing. As action is usually the main focus of the films, they feature plenty of slow-motion and quick camera cuts in battle. In the case of the Alice vs. Axe-Man scene in RE: Afterlife, the films prove that it is possible, if not desirable, to present an entire action sequence in constant slow-mo.

There's also the fact that both franchises have recently made the jump into 3D. Underworld: Awakening is the first 3D film for that series, while Resident Evil: Retribution 3D will be that series' second.



Both the Resident Evil and Underworld franchises are distributed by Screen Gems. These days Screen Gems seems to specialize in horror films with modest budgets and cult followings. Other horror films that have found their home at the studio include Hostel 2, Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid, and The Cave. Screen Gems also uses similar tactics to sell each franchise...



Both film franchises seem to know their target audience by now, and that's exactly whom they cater to during the marketing phase. Both films tend to offer very action-packed trailers, with plenty of TV spots that see play on cable channels like Spike TV. Posters and other promotional material always feature the female leads font and center. The overall look of each franchise's marketing campaign is quite similar, but with Underworld favoring blue hues to RE's more earthy tones.

The ad men in charge aren't averse to a little viral marketing either. This can be as innocuous as the "Awaken Selene" online campaign or as unusual as the decision to scatter fake zombie limbs across Madrid along with promo postcards for RE: Afterlife.



Neither franchise has seen the same director tackle each and every sequel. That said, both Underworld and Resident Evil can lay claim to a "series godfather" who guides the progression of the sequels. Underworld co-creator Len Wiseman directed the first two films and produced the second two. Paul W.S. Anderson has directed the first, fourth, and fifth RE films but written all five. Love the films or hate them, these godfathers have kept their respective franchises consistently steaming along over the past decade.



Few people would accuse either the Underworld or Resident Evil movies of being particularly, well, good, but that hasn't stopped them from raking in impressive amounts of cash. To date, every entry in both series has been profitable for Screen Gems, often earning two or three times the production budget. Thanks to the modest budgets, international numbers, and the the tendency to release sequels during the dead periods of January-February or September, the movies have little difficulty remaining profitable.

To date, the RE franchise has made over $202 million at the domestic box office, while the Underworld franchise has raked in over $160 million.



Because of the money factor, both Underworld and Resident Evil continue to see sequels every two or three years, almost like clockwork. Interestingly, while one might expect critical reception and box office returns to decline over time, both franchises seem to be on the upswing. (Resident Evil: Afterlife 3D wound up being the most profitable entry in that series to date.)

With both franchises, the first sequel seems to be the most critically reviled, with later efforts offering at least a moderate upswing in quality. It should be interesting to see how this year's respective sequels fare financially and critically.

Now it's time for you to vote!

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