Alam Nyo Ba?

Kevin

Vampires, werewolves, and impossibly skintight PVC. What’s not to like? With a hefty helping of Blade and The Matrix, the Underworld franchise turned an ancient war between vampires and werewolves into a full-blown gun-toting action franchise. With Kate Beckinsale front and centre as the deadly vampire Death Dealer Selene, the series quickly carved out its own gothic corner of early-2000s genre cinema.

Over the course of five movies, Underworld expanded its mythology considerably, introducing ancient bloodlines, vampire elders, Lycan rebellions, hybrids, betrayals, resurrections, and enough supernatural family history to make your head spin. The quality definitely varied along the way, but there’s something about this world that kept us coming back.

So, with more than two decades of Underworld behind us, let’s take a look back at the entire series and see where all five movies land when ranked from worst to best.

5. Underworld: Blood Wars (2016)

Still hunted by both Vampires and Lycans, Selene is pulled back into the war when Lycan leader Marius seeks the whereabouts of her daughter. With the vampire covens facing extinction, Selene must once again fight to protect those closest to her while confronting enemies from every side.

By the time Blood Wars rolled around, the Underworld mythology had become so tangled that you almost needed a flowchart to keep track of everyone’s bloodline, betrayal, resurrection, and supernatural upgrade. 

Kate Beckinsale remains completely committed as Selene, Charles Dance brings his usual authority to Vampire elder Thomas, while Lara Pulver has a great time chewing scenery as the scheming Semira.

Yes, the movie still offers plenty of swords, guns, Lycans, and icy Vampire politics, but there’s a definite been-there-done-that feeling hanging over everything. Another powerful Lycan wants hybrid blood. Another Vampire faction betrays Selene. Another supposedly safe sanctuary turns out not to be particularly safe. The movie keeps piling on new mythology, including a snowy Nordic Vampire coven and another power upgrade for our girl, but very little of it feels as memorable as what came before. Although there’s been talk of another movie over the last decade, this one appears to be the end of Selene’s journey.

4. Underworld: Awakening (2012)

Selene awakens after years in captivity to discover that humanity has learned of the existence of Vampires and Lycans and is determined to eradicate them both. While navigating this dangerous new world, she also discovers a young hybrid girl whose existence makes her a target for multiple factions.

After the events of Evolutions, humanity has discovered the existence of Vampires and Lycans, leading to Selene being cryogenically frozen for over a decade and separated from Michael. Speaking of Michael, Scott Speedman doesn’t actually appear in this one, aside from some archival footage from the first two movies.

Awakening strips away much of the operatic intrigue of the earlier movies and turns Underworld into an almost pure action picture. At barely 90 minutes, there’s definitely less substance here than before, and the colder sci-fi look loses some of that signature gothic atmosphere. Although the revelation that humanity is aware of these supernatural creatures is an interesting way to shake things up, the movie never explores the idea as deeply as it could have. 

That said, if you’re still into Selene going full action-hero, there’s plenty to enjoy, including a massive super-lycan that causes some serious carnage.

3. Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009)

Before Selene entered the war, the Vampires ruled over the Lycans with an iron fist. When Lycan leader Lucian falls in love with Viktor’s daughter Sonja, their forbidden relationship helps ignite the rebellion that will eventually become the centuries-long war between the two species.

A prequel without Kate Beckinsale sounded like a questionable idea at the time, but Rise of the Lycans wound up becoming one of the strongest entries in the franchise. In fact, I was even tempted to place this above Evolution, and I can certainly understand why some would.

A big reason for this is that it puts Michael Sheen and Bill Nighy front and centre. Their performances give the franchise’s ancient history far more weight than you might expect from a supernatural Romeo and Juliet. We already know how Lucian and Viktor’s story ends, yet the movie manages to make the tragedy compelling anyway. Rhona Mitra also makes a strong impression as Sonja, whose relationship with Lucian gives the prequel some genuine emotional stakes. It’s smaller and less stylish than the first two movies, but the stripped-down medieval setting makes it one of the series’ more distinctive entries.

2. Underworld: Evolution (2006)

With the Vampire hierarchy thrown into chaos, Selene and Michael find themselves hunted by Marcus, the first Vampire and one of the most powerful immortals ever created. Their search for answers uncovers the origins of the Vampire-Lycan bloodlines and a centuries-old family secret.

In true sequel fashion, Evolution wastes very little time picking up where the first movie left off, going bigger, bloodier, and considerably more bonkers. 

The mythology is greatly expanded with the introduction of Marcus (Tony Curran), the first vampire, William, the first werewolf, and Alexander Corvinus (Derek Jacobi), the first immortal. Curran makes Marcus one of the more intimidating villains of the series, particularly once he fully transforms into a winged vampire monstrosity. Say what you will about this franchise, but the practical creature effects still hold up wonderfully, particularly in the first few movies.

Evolution also benefits from Selene and Michael becoming a genuine partnership rather than spending the whole runtime circling around one another. It may lack some of the first film’s mystery, but Evolution compensates by going absolutely all-in on the mythology, for better or worse.

1. Underworld (2003)

For centuries, vampires and werewolves — known as Lycans — have been locked in a secret war. Vampire Death Dealer Selene discovers that the Lycans are hunting a human named Michael Corvin, leading her to uncover secrets that could change everything she knows about the conflict.

Released at the height of the early-2000s obsession with black leather, industrial nightclubs, blue colour grading, and slo-mo gun fights, the first Underworld movie wears its era proudly — and that’s a huge part of its appeal.

Kate Beckinsale immediately makes Selene an iconic action heroine, while Bill Nighy steals every scene he gets as the deliciously sinister Viktor. The mythology occasionally threatens to swallow the movie whole, but that complicated lore is also part of its charm. Slick, stylish, violent, and just the right amount of ridiculous, Underworld remains the franchise at its best.

Your Turn

Well, from my perspective, it looks like the Underworld franchise slowly went downhill with each installment, but now it’s your turn. Let us know who you would rank the Underworld movies in the comments below!

The post Every Underworld Movie Ranked from Worst to Best appeared first on JoBlo.

Chris

Mike Flanagan has had an interesting career as a director. After first making an impact with indie horror films like Absentia and Oculus, he was one of the earliest filmmakers to successfully pivot to streaming, delivering Netflix hits like Hush and Gerald’s Game. However, arguably his greatest successes have come in the form of limited streaming series.

With a studio film like Doctor Sleep, Flanagan had to condense a sprawling novel by his favourite writer, Stephen King, into a manageable feature-length movie. It’s no coincidence that his significantly longer director’s cut is the superior version. With streaming series, however, Flanagan has been able to take his time developing characters, building atmosphere, and delivering the kind of slow-burn horror that has become his trademark.

His first limited series, The Haunting of Hill House, was a smash hit, with follow-ups like The Haunting of Bly Manor and Midnight Mass further cementing his reputation as one of the genre’s most exciting storytellers. While his attempts at launching ongoing shows, such as The Midnight Club, haven’t been quite as successful, Flanagan has developed such a devoted following that every new project feels like an event.

Perhaps his most ambitious series to date is his new adaptation of Stephen King’s Carrie. While the significant departures from King’s original novel have ruffled the feathers of longtime horror fans, younger viewers seem to be embracing the show. Indeed, there’s already speculation that it could become Flanagan’s first genuine ongoing hit. It’s certainly divisive, but people seem to be watching and talking about it.

Of course, with such an impressive body of work, everyone has their favourite. Some prefer the emotional devastation of Hill House, while others swear by the religious horror of Midnight Mass.

But which Mike Flanagan series is truly the best? Take our poll below and let us know!

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Horror fans had plenty to scream about during Blumhouse‘s panel on Friday at New York City Comic-Con. Thanks to the presentation’s packed slate, we now know more about the studio’s upcoming releases, including Mike Flanagan’s The Exorcist: Martyrs, Curry Barker’s Anything But Ghosts, Molepeople, starring LaKeith Stanfield, Seasons, the next movie in the Paranormal Activity franchise, Other Mommy, and, finally, the latest attempt to adapt James Tynion IV’s Something Is Killing the Children.

Hosted by Matthew Patrick, aka MatPat, the founder and former host of YouTube’s “Theory” channels and a leading voice in internet horror fandom, the session kicked off with Blumhouse Atomic Monster CEO and Founder Jason Blum reflecting on the success of this year’s Obsession and Backrooms, thanking fans for supporting the theatrical experience in 2026.

Mike Flanagan and Chiwetel Ejiofor Unveil The Exorcist: Martyrs

During the panel, Director Mike Flanagan, along with Academy Award-nominated actor Chiwetel Ejiofor (Backrooms), unveiled the trailer for The Exorcist: Martyrs. Ejiofor stars in the highly anticipated film alongside Scarlett Johansson, Laurence Fishburne, Diane Lane, and John Leguizamo.

Rob Savage Surprises Fans with Other Mommy and Molepeople Reveal

Next, director Rob Savage talked about Friday’s release of Other Mommy and surprised BlumFest attendees with an offer of a free screening in New York tonight. Savage also revealed some casting news, bringing out actor LaKeith Stanfield (Get Out, Atlanta) to share the news that he will star in his upcoming film Molepeople, written by Nathan Elston and produced in partnership with Paramount Primal. Paramount has set the film for release on Aug. 27, 2027.

Craig Zobel Takes on Something Is Killing the Children

Director Craig Zobel shared that he is the latest director assigned to the feature-film adaptation of the horror phenomenon Something is Killing the Children, created by James Tynion IV and Werther Dell’Edera.

Something Is Killing the Children tells the following story: “When the children of Archer’s Peak begin to go missing, everything seems hopeless. Most children never return, but the ones that do have terrible stories—impossible stories of terrifying creatures that live in the shadows. Their only hope of finding and eliminating the threat is the arrival of a mysterious stranger, one who believes the children and claims to see what they can see. Her name is Erica Slaughter. She kills monsters.”

Curry Barker and Cooper Tomlinson Talk Anything But Ghosts

Anything But Ghosts director Curry Barker and his co-writer/co-star Cooper Tomlinson surprised the audience and talked about their experience working together on the film, Barker’s eagerly awaited follow-up to Obsession, slated for release May 7, 2027.

Paranormal Activity and The Blair Witch Return

Finally, BlumFest guests were treated to exclusive footage of the hit stage adaptation of Paranormal Activity, which revealed an extension of its Broadway run at the August Wilson Theatre until Feb. 28, 2027. Five lucky winners snagged tickets to the in-demand production.

“’Paranormal Activity’ is such an emotional movie for me, because it’s really how Blumhouse started,” Blum shared. “It really gave birth to everything that we’ve done.”

The also announced the release date for the eighth Paranormal Activity movie, which will be directed by Undertone‘s Ian Tuason. It now comes out on May 21st, 2027.

As for Blumhouse’s summoning of the Blair Witch, short film director Dylan Clark is directing the movie, and Wan is “super excited” about the project. “Dylan is another one of these great filmmakers, YouTubers who’ve made a bunch of really great shorts online … It’s these filmmakers who actually have a lot of reverence for these films. They grew up with it, and they have a lot of admiration for it. And so we’re not just plucking anyone off the internet.” It comes out on September 24th, 2027.

James Wan Talks Saw and RoboCop

The panel also featured a Q&A session with Atomic Monster Founder/Director James Wan, during which he answered questions about his return to the Saw franchise and his Robocop reboot starring Dan Stevens for Prime Video.

Mike P. Nelson will direct the next Saw movie for Blumhouse. “I said, if you and Leigh Whannell are going to come back to do this, I want to make sure that you’re in the driver’s seat for how it’s going to go creatively,” Blum said. “It’s going to feel, I think, different than every other every other ‘Saw’ movie before, maybe except the first, which James obviously directed and wrote with Leigh. And on both of our parts, we want to thank you guys for keeping that franchise alive for all these years and we’re gonna bring it to you in a whole new way. So with James and Lee coming back, and all of your love for Saw, it was time to bring it home.”

Was Blumhouse’s Comic-Con presentation enough to wash the taste of Other Mommy out of people’s mouths? Is Craig Zobel the right director for Something is Killing the Children? Can Mike Flanagan help resurrect the Exorcist franchise after The Exorcist: Believer crashed and burned in theaters? We’ve got plenty of questions, and hope the studio wows us in the coming year and beyond.

Which of Blumhouse’s projects are you looking forward to the most? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Play time for Studios

The 2026 low-budget revolution of horror films chugs along, as Deadline is now reporting that Focus Features and Blumhouse-Atomic Monster have snatched up the distribution rights for a new horror film titled Play House from Nicolas Curcio. The deal is said to have reached seven figures for worldwide distribution excluding Latin America and India. This is a big investment for Curcio’s film, which follows the trend set by Curry Barker’s Obsession, but if you could believe it, Play House was shot with an even smaller budget, which came to somewhere over $100,000. This means it was made for roughly 13% of Obsession‘s budget.

Play House

Play House is set to release in theaters in 2027 with the international distribution being handled by Universal Pictures International. The movie stars Will Harrison, Jessica Sula, Jordan Gonzalez, and James Urbaniak. Curcio and Gladstein produced the film for Skinny Ghost, alongside Ben Gojer, Jack Forbes, and Derek Tramont. The executive producers on board include Ahbra Perry via Chroma, Daniel Levin via Narrative, Adam Hendricks and Greg Gilreath of Divide/Conquer, and Jason Blum of Blumhouse Atomic-Monster. Perry reps the film for sales via Narrative Distribution.

The film is written by Curcio and his wife and creative partner Kirby Gladstein. The film follows a character named Elliott (Harrison) while he’s renovating a dilapidated house to win back his ex. He discovers VHS tapes of an unaired children’s TV show, which begins to seep into his life, threatening his last chance at reconciliation.

Play House was part of the Fantastic Fest 2026 lineup, where it made its world premiere, and it was also a winner of the 2025 Fantastic Pitches.

Focus Features and Blumhouse-Atomic Monster are planning for more releases out of their partnership. According to Deadline, “Most recently, they announced their partnership on director Josh Giuliano’s Occupant following the buzzy TIFF debut of his first horror film, River.”

Focus is normally known for dramatic features, but the studio also has a working relationship with Robert Eggers and has released his films, Nosferatu and the upcoming film Werwulf, which opens on Christmas Day.

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When 28 Years Later was first announced, Danny Boyle and Alex Garland weren’t just planning one movie — they had an entire trilogy in mind. The first installment did well enough to keep that plan alive, but 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple wasn’t nearly as lucky at the box office. Naturally, that left fans wondering if the proposed third movie might wind up dead before it even got started. Previously, Boyle didn’t seem too worried, but at a recent event promoting Ink he admitted the film is “on the back burner.”

“Alex has been off doing his own film, which is a huge project,” he said, referring to Garland’s Elden Ring.

28 Years Later 3 Will Happen… At Some Point

A few months ago, Boyle sounded somewhat more optimistic. “’28 Years 3,’ or whatever it ends up being called, will get made because people keep asking about it,” Boyle previously told Variety. “Quite when I’m not sure, but there’s a script – a very good script by Alex Garland,” he said. And it will feature Cillian Murphy.“

He continued, “[It will have] a lot of Cillian Murphy in it. Whether he’ll take his kit off anymore, that I don’t know. He’s got the Oscar now.“

Boyle also commented on Murphy’s physique in the first movie. “He’s gorgeous. When we took his kit off, I couldn’t believe it,” he said. “He looked like Iggy Pop! Everything was glistening. Oh my God. He’s just one of those people. He doesn’t work out or anything like that: he just looks like that.“

Earlier this year Boyle told JoBlo that the film will shoot in 2027. “We ran out of time. Because it’s set in an area of Britain [where] you can only film at certain times of the year. We ran out of time this year – we literally ran out of time,” he said. “So it’ll be, hopefully, fingers crossed, next year. But there’s the enthusiasm there, and Alex [Garland] has done a wonderful script for it.“

Ink

Boyle’s next film is Ink, a drama that follows Larry Lamb (Jack O’Connell) as he accepts Rupert Murdoch’s (Guy Pearce) offer to become editor of the British tabloid newspaper The Sun.

Our own Chris Bumbray caught the film at the Toronto International Film Festival. “The first half of Ink moves like lightning, with Boyle opening up James Graham’s play to such an extent that its stage roots are never obvious,” he wrote in his review. “It’s directed with a lot of verve, while Boyle uses anachronistic needle drops to evoke the initially punk mentality of The Sun before they became bottom feeders.“

Ink is set to be released in select theaters on December 11, before streaming on Netflix on January 8, 2027.

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Alfonso Cuarón and son working together again

Alfonso Cuarón and his son Jonas proved to be a winning team with their ambitious space drama Gravity in 2013. The movie ended up winning seven Oscars and even earned Alfonso an award for Best Director. Alfonso said that he and his son kept their working relationship simple: “When making a film, we met as director and writer, not father and son,” Alfonso laughed, “During lunch, we became father and son for a while.”

Alfonso and Jonas are working together again for their upcoming immigrant film Cabacho Champion. According to Dispatch Dipe, the two have made an appearance in Korea for the first time to talk about their passion about film in Busan.

Horror from Cuarón

While Alfonso and Jonas dedicated their time mostly to their current project, they did not hesitate to show love to the Korean movies that seamlessly weave important social issues into genre films without making them overtly political (see Digger). Jonas in particular would give a shout out: “I like Korean films like The Host, Parasite, Hope and No Way Out,” and said, “They weave social themes into genre, and incorporate humor. There is much to learn.”

Near the end of their talk, Alfonso would speak about how the future of film will be affected by technological advancements and the rise of new platforms before revealing his next project: “I am writing a new screenplay. A story in the horror genre,” which he hinted, “It is very interesting.”

Ascension

Cuarón will first be dabbling in horror with a thriller series for Apple TV, Ascension. The series comes from Cuarón and the creative team behind Relic and Apartment 7A, with Natalie Erika James and Christian White serving as co-showrunners. James will also direct the series.

Inspired by Adam Nevill’s novel Last Days, Ascension follows Rose, played by Balfe, a relentless documentary filmmaker and recently divorced mother who has built a career uncovering other people’s secrets while struggling to resolve problems in her own life. Rose begins working on a project about a mysterious 20th-century cult known as the Church of Ascension. At first, the teachings of the group unexpectedly provide Rose with a sense of refuge. But the deeper she gets into the Church of Ascension, the more she discovers that something far more sinister is hiding beneath its beliefs.

The series explores questions of evil, innocence and how far people are willing to go and what they are willing to sacrifice to protect the people they love, even when the greatest threat may ultimately come from within themselves.

The series comes from Apple Studios and Cuarón’s Esperanto Filmoj, with Anonymous Content also producing.

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“What’s your favorite scary movie?”

It’s spooky season. So, what better time to talk about the Wes Craven classic Scream? Earlier today, some shade was thrown at the fourth entry in the series by franchise composer Marco Beltrami, but the original lit a much-needed fire under the genre. Bloody Disgusting is now reporting that the 1997 pop culture giant is getting a new 4K Blu-ray box set later this year. Unfortunately, it will be released too late for Halloween, but it will be available in time for its 30th anniversary on December 15.

“Cause I wanna know who I’m looking at.”

The set will be an Amazon exclusive and you can pre-order it for $109.99. You may now be asking, why so much? Let’s take a look at what’s included in the box set. Included in the set are:

• Scream on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and Digital
• Woodsboro Police Department case folder holding two discs
• “Persons of Interest” suspect sheet
• Six collectible suspect Polaroids
• Recreated Woodsboro newspaper article
• Premium archival evidence-kit presentation

Plus, something that the franchise fan site, Hello Sidney, says is “one piece of evidence we’re leaving for you to discover.”

Additionally, the set includes a bloody replica of Casey Becker’s phone from the famous opening scene. The phone is also interactive, where it rings and plays quotes from the movie (presumably from Ghostface).

Marco Beltrami

Deadline is also celebrating the 30th anniversary of the film by catching up with franchise composer Marco Beltrami. Beltrami was asked how he got the gig doing the iconic music for the first film and he replied, “I did this kind of voice, manipulated voice, and electronic tape, and it really resonated with Wes. He liked it, and so he asked me to come in and meet him, and I did. He showed me the beginning of the movie and asked me to score the opening scene, which was that scene where Drew Barrymore gets killed. It’s a kind of a long sequence. He gave me like two days to do it, and I sent it in, and I got the job. And I think the thing that was really cool about it was that he really found that the piece of music that I sent him with that voice really resonated with the emotional content of bringing Sidney’s character to life, and that was, I think, what got me the job.”

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