Underworld: Awakening (2012)
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A vampire warrior must protect her hybrid daughter from a corporation of Lycans seeking to weaponize her DNA.
The story
Six months after the events of the second film, the government and the general public have become aware of the existence of Vampires and Lycans. A program to study and potentially harness their powers soon escalates into an all-out genocide. Shortly after the Purge begins, Selene and Michael are captured by humans. Due to her enhanced vampiric traits, Selene is imprisoned in cryogenic suspension. After being frozen for twelve years, during which both species have been hunted to the brink of extinction, Selene manages to escape. She learns that another subject has also fled the facility and begins a journey to find her.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After escaping cryogenic suspension following twelve years of imprisonment, Selene discovers a young girl, Eve, who is her hybrid daughter with Michael Corvin. Selene, the girl, and a vampire named David flee from the facility but are pursued by Lycans. David takes them to his coven, but they are attacked by a 'Super-Lycan' named Quint. Selene eventually learns that the corporation Antigen is run by Lycans posing as humans to trick governments into believing they are extinct. Dr. Jacob Lane, the head of Antigen, seeks Eve's DNA to perfect the Lycan race. Selene and a sympathetic human detective, Sebastian, assault Antigen to save Eve. During the chaos, Selene manages to free Michael from his own cryogenic tank but must leave him behind to stop the Lycans from escaping with Eve. In the final confrontation, Selene kills Quint, and Eve kills Lane. The trio returns to Michael's tank to find it empty, vowing to find him before the world does.
- Original title
- Underworld 4: New Dawn
- First release year
- 2012
- Runtime (minutes)
- 86
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Måns Mårlind; Björn Stein
- Writers
- Len Wiseman · screenplay; John Hlavin · screenplay; J. Michael Straczynski · screenplay; Allison Burnett · screenplay; Len Wiseman · story; John Hlavin · story
- Cast and characters
- Kate Beckinsale · Selene; Stephen Rea · Dr. Jacob Lane; Michael Ealy · Detective Sebastian; Theo James · David; India Eisley · Eve; Charles Dance · Thomas; Kris Holden-Ried · Quint
- Genres
- action; horror
- Themes
- survival; genetic modification; extinction
- Tone and mood
- serious; action-oriented
- Setting
- Modern day, following a period of human-led genocide against supernatural species.
- Premise and plot tags
- vampires; lycans; hybrids; cryogenic suspension; supernatural action
- Franchise connections
- Underworld
- Content notes
- nudity
- Reception
- The film received generally negative reviews from critics, though it was the highest-grossing film in the franchise.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 25% · review count: 76; Metacritic · score: 39 · scale: 100 · review count: 17
- Production trivia
- The film was one of the first to be shot using RED EPIC digital cameras in 3D.; Antigen was originally called BioCom in earlier drafts.; The original title was intended to be Underworld 4: New Dawn.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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