Kate Beckinsale: Part Two – The A-Z of Women in Horror

Apr 12, 2011
Hari Navarro

Underworld: Evolution (2006) Kate Beckinsale - © Lakeshore Entertainment

Continuing on from Part One of the series, we explore some of the hits and misses that make up the horror resume of actress Kate Beckinsale.

Having now established herself as a recognizable talent on both sides of the Atlantic, with mega-budget films the likes of Pearl Harbor and The Aviator, Beckinsale again ventured back into horror.

Van Helsing (2004) Dir. Stephen Sommers

In the year following the breakout success of Underworld,Kate Beckinsale (here as feisty sword swisher Anna Valerious) continued to mine the supernatural with another creature-packed feature. But Van Helsing proved a messy grab bag of a film that collapsed as its overwrought substance smothered what little style it had to offer.

Here alongside Hugh Jackman, Beckinsale trudges through a film that leads nowhere, and that is a place that very few enjoy paying for the privilege to visit. As a slight diversion, we are treated to naked squawking vampire sirens, Doctor Frankenstein, his monster, trusty old Igor and even Count Dracula. But these incarnations are instantly forgettable and do little more than clutter an already overstuffed and colossal waste of time, money and energy.

Underworld: Evolution (2006) Dir. Len Wiseman

This sequel to the original Underworld again saw director Len Wiseman at the wheel. The now-intricate heritage stories that backbone the series are given yet further flesh as old injustices are brought into the light. Not as complete a package as its predecessor, it nonetheless brims with answers to questions that the first film only touched upon.

In fact, Beckinsale’s Selene is not even the center of attention as other characters are afforded their fair share of screen time. Bill Nighy as Vampire Elder, Viktor warrants mention as he here continues to strut himself into indelible Underworld lore. As does the now very much in demand Michael Sheen (The Twilight Saga, Tron: Legacy) as top dog Lycan, Lucian.

Vacancy (2007) Dir. Nimród Antal

Considering its subject matter – the clandestine production of snuff movies – Vacancy is a somewhat tepid production. It doesn’t help that David (Luke Wilson) and Amy Fox (Kate Beckinsale) crash headlong into a stack of horror clichés within just minutes of the film getting underway.

A wrong turn is taken, cell phone reception vaporises and an isolated rural motel arrives, complete with obligatory nonchalant manager (Frank Whaley). Vacancy could have been a jet-black journey into an underworld that actually does have some basis in fact, but it rarely even tried. It’s all overly familiar, and in horror, as with most any other genre, that is never a good thing.

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009)

Rise of the Lycans is a 2009 prequel to the Underworld series that only featured Beckinsale at its very beginning and end. She provided the voice-over that set the opening sequence and a brief slice of footage from the original Underworld to close the film.

Underworld 4: New Dawn (2012) Dir. Mans Marlind, Bjorn Stein

Kate Beckinsale returns in 2012 to lead her character Selene into entirely new dimensions, three of them actually. Though still in production, the latest film in the franchise is slated to fly out of the screen in gasp-inducing 3D. Early plot outlines report that she will awaken to find herself again at war. Though perhaps this time out, some sort of Vampire-Lycan collaboration may be in the wind as mankind sets itself to eradicate both species from the face of the planet.

India Eisley (The Secret Life of the American Teenager) enters the fray as Selene’s Vampire/Lycan daughter, Nissa. Michael Ealy (Miracle at St. Anna) has also been cast in a film that will this time not be directed by Beckinsale’s husband, Len Wiseman. Swedish directors Mans Marlind and Bjorn Stein instead take the helm with Wiseman listed as producer. The film is set for release on the 20th January 2012.