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Underworld: Awakening | 2012 | R | - 3.9.5
The fourth installment in the "Underworld" film series: When humans become aware of the existence of Lycans and Vampires they perform purges that will free the planet of both species. However, some remain and they continue fighting against human interference. With Kate Beckinsale, Stephen Rea, Michael Ealy, Theo James, India Eisley and Sandrine Holt. Directed by Måns Mårlind & Björn Stein. A few exchanges are spoken in an unrecognizable language with English subtitles. [1:28]
SEX/NUDITY 3 - A woman is shown fully nude (no bare breasts or genitals are visible) while inside a chamber and after she breaks out of it (her bare abdomen, shoulders, cleavage and legs are seen). A Lycan dies and we see it morph back to a human state; we see the nude man lying on the ground and his bare chest, abdomen, legs and hip are shown. A man's bare chest is shown when he rips his shirt off and begins to transform.
► Two men discuss a teen girl "coming-of-age" and that she has regular menses with an implication of "mating."
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VIOLENCE/GORE 9 - A few scenes show humans transforming into Lycans or hybrids and we hear crunching, tearing and the individual usually groans and yells. A few Vampires are shown with huge wings (one appears in an emaciated state) and their flesh is blue-tinged in a couple of shots; the Lycans are shown to be hulking and fur-covered with large, sharp teeth and claws; a hybrid creature is enormous with large claws and teeth and has super-strength.
► A teen girl Vampire fights with a hybrid, the hybrid chokes the girl and another man shoots the hybrid in the face (we see blood and matter when part of his face is blown off); the girl and the hybrid continue to fight and the girl tears the throat out of the hybrid (we see the hole in his throat with a dangling bit of tissue and the girl holds a wad of bloody tissue in her hand).
► There is an extended battle sequence between Lycans and Vampires and we see many Vampires trounced and bitten by Lycans and the Lycans are slashed and shot (lots of blood spurts, sprays and floods from wounds); a Lycan throws a Vampire into a wall, a teen Vampire attacks it, a Lycan punches a Vampire in the head and half of his face rips off (we see the blood and gore behind his face), a Vampire uses a bladed whip to slash and behead many Lycans (blood spurts and sprays), and a Vampire hits a Lycan in the head with an ax.
► A huge hybrid Lycan/Vampire prowls behind a curtain, a Vampire shoots it repeatedly, it lunges at the Vampire and throws her into a wall, the Vampire slashes the creature and slices off a few of its fingers (we see bloody nubs), the Vampire leaps onto the creature's back, stabs it and the blade breaks off (we see the bloody wound and watch as the skin closes over the broken blade); the Vampire is thrown through a platform and she lies motionless and covered with debris. A huge hybrid Lycan/Vampire slams a woman into a wall, it throws a car at her, it chases her while snapping and slashing with sharp teeth and claws, the Vampire stabs the hybrid in the head and face and blood sprays while another vampire cuts the head off a Lycan (we see the head separate and blood sprays).
► A Vampire punches a man in the stomach, pushes her hand through his flesh, and then pulls her hand out; the man scratches at his abdomen when he realizes that she planted an explosive inside him and it explodes (we watch as he transforms into a huge hybrid Lycan/Vampire and then disintegrates). A Vampire slices open the abdomen of another Vampire, she then slices her own hand and pushes it into the open abdomen (we hear squishing and see her hand from the inside of the body with fluids and a pumping heart).
► We see several dead bodies at a crime scene and they appear to either have been burned or chewed up; the flesh is torn away and we see bloody tissue and muscle while police officers talk about what is likely to have happened, including one officer's reference to "the guy is shredded," "they found his throat over there in the gutter."
► There are back story sequences that show Lycans and Vampires in battle: We see Vampires slashing Lycans, Lycans biting and slashing Vampires (blood and gore sprays and splatters), a Lycan is stabbed in the face, a Vampire's head is sliced in half diagonally and the pieces slide apart (we see blood and gore), and a Lycan is stabbed up through the chin and the blade is shown coming out of the top of its head.
► A Vampire is shot in the back several times and keeps walking into an elevator; the armed men that shot her surround the elevator and are blown up when explosives are detonated (we see two men with charred flesh and thrashing, and the Vampire shoots them each in the head causing blood to spurt); three armed men transform into Lycans and lunge toward the Vampire, who shoots them (blood spurts), and many Lycans are shown being sprayed with silver nitrate particles that causes them to disintegrate; three men shoot a Vampire and she shoots them in the head (a lot of blood emits from the head wounds). A Vampire attacks a man, another man stabs the Vampire in the shoulder, the Vampire breaks his arm (we see blood and a bone protruding from his arm) and stabs him in the temple. A Vampire with a scalpel runs through several armed men slashing their throats (blood spurts from each as she goes). A Vampire stabs a man in the jugular and then shoots him in the head (blood spurts and sprays). Something attacks several people in a laboratory; we see dead bodies with very bloody wounds on the ground after the attack. A Vampire holds a man against a plate glass window, and the glass cracks and then shatters; she continues to hold him out the window and then drops him to his death (we see him splatter onto a parked car and blood spurts).
► A Vampire is attacked by a Lycan, they fall together through an elevator shaft crashing into platforms and breaker stops at the bottom of the shaft and the Vampire shoots the Lycan to death; the elevator car speeds down toward the Vampire, she shoots its floor full of holes and it breaks apart when it reaches her. A man with a flamethrower sprays a Vampire, she throws an explosive that blows up and we see the armed man consumed by flames. A Vampire throws an explosive and it blows several armed men through the air. A Vampire jumps from several stories up and crashes onto a moving truck, she dangles from the back, the driver slams on the brakes and the Vampire is thrown off the front of the truck (she is shown motionless on the street); the driver exits the truck and shoots the Vampire in the head (we see a bloody spot on her head), the Vampire bites the man's neck (we hear a crunch and see blood on her mouth) and the bullet in her head pops out of the hole and the hole heals instantly. A Vampire jumps over a ledge and she is followed by an armed man, whom she pulls over the ledge and he falls to his death.
► A Vampire flips an armed man around, presses him against a railing, she jumps over the railing and snaps the man's neck (we hear a crunch). A Vampire stabs an armed man and blood sprays from the wound, and then slams another armed man's weapon into his chest (blood sprays).
► During a few purge scenes, we see "infected" people being exposed to chemicals that cause them to transform if they are infected and then they are destroyed: A woman is sprayed with a white powder that causes her to transform into a Lycan and she is dragged out into the sunlight where she becomes charred and disintegrates (we see the flesh char and embers glow beneath the skin); and many people are shot in the head or body (blood pours from the wounds and splatters). A hybrid man holds a woman off the ground by the throat and breaks her neck (we hear a crunch and she dangles limply). A man is shot repeatedly and we see bloody wounds.
► Three Lycans chase a female Vampire, a male Vampire and a teen girl Vampire speeding away in a van, one Lycan bites the girl in the neck and she transforms and tears the Lycan in half (we see the inside of its head and a lot of blood accompanied by a tearing sound); another Lycan bites the man's arm and he slashes the Lycan with a long blade killing him, and the third is shot repeatedly until he falls dead on the road. A van is tipped on its side, two Lycans from inside the van lunge at a Vampire outside, and she shoots them both (blood sprays). Emaciated-looking Lycans snarl and approach a Vampire in a tunnel, he runs, another Vampire holds a gun on him, and then shoots one Lycan that threatened him (he whimpers and then dies). A man begins to transform, he rips off his shirt and we see his flesh becoming fur covered and his teeth growing larger; he is shot in the arm (we see a bloody wound), he falls back into water, a Vampire follows, they are fired upon by gunmen on shore, and one gunman throws an explosive that blows up and throws the two people in the water a great distance.
► A man shoots another man driving a van in the head (we see blood spurt from the wound) and the man is pushed out of the van and he rolls on the ground dead. A man injects another man numerous times with hypodermic needles (we see the needles press into his arm and one is injected into his eye). A Vampire uses tweezers and pulls on a teen girl Vampire's wounded shoulder (the girl winces). A Vampire slices her wrist and tells a teen girl Vampire to feed, which she does, and we see her eyes change color and her mouth covered with blood. A wounded teenage girl Vampire loses a lot of blood (we see blood seeped into her shirt). A Vampire bites a teenage girl Vampire on the arm (we see blood on her mouth). We see an empty blood bag on a floor. A teen girl Vampire slices her arm with a knife and watches it heal (we see blood and then the wound closes).
► A teen girl Vampire is shown in a room that fills with gas (presumably to sedate her), she transforms, throws furniture around the room and attacks cameras that are watching her. A woman in a chamber breaks the glass using her head and tumbles out and onto the floor (she was frozen and appears to be thawing).
► A man talks about dissecting a teen girl Vampire and we see her sedated and on an operating table. We hear that a man hanged himself. We hear that a man's wife was infected and eventually killed herself; he says, "I had to watch her burn." We hear news reports of people being "infected" with a disease that creates Lycans and Vampires.
LANGUAGE 5 - About 4 F-words, 5 scatological terms, name-calling (death-dealer, coward).
SUBSTANCE USE - We see vampires drinking blood from others in a few scenes.
DISCUSSION TOPICS - Vampires, Lycans, hybrids, mass cleansing, martial law, survival, betrayal, protecting loved ones, death of loved ones, love, trust, parenting, running away.
MESSAGE - Fight for what you believe in.
CAVEATS
Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.
We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.
Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.
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