Underworld Vs Resident Evil! The Supernatural Showdown!

Pick your demons. Choose your heroines. Sharpen your weapons. It’s time for a supernatural throwdown. Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and in today’s Versus, we’re pitting two guilty pleasure action franchises in a head to head battle: Underworld vs. Resident Evil.

Both are juggernauts of the sci-fi/horror action genre with their own quirks, female badasses and penchant for lots of bloody destruction. With both franchises about to have new entries lighting up the silver screen, it’s time to see which one stands tall over the other. One thing, though: this is going to get a little gory, so we’re slapping the Mature Content Warning on here. Five rounds, one winner, let the mayhem begin.

Round 1- Story

On the off chance you’re not sleeping between action scenes, you get some pretty good storylines that have helped build both franchises. Underworld focuses on a war between Vampires and Lycans – aka Werewolves – that has lasted for centuries. At the forefront is Selene, a Death Dealer, who discovers a shocking truth behind her creation, leading her to battle her own kind in addition to the Lycans she was bred to kill. The story hasn’t just focused squarely on Selene, as the series has taken time to explore the war’s roots and progression through history, as seen in Underworld: Rise of the Lycans. It’s a vastly rich narrative that just keeps building and building.

The Resident Evil films are a bold departure from their video game counterparts. After the experimental T-Virus gets loose in Raccoon City, it spreads worldwide, bringing about a Zombie Apocalypse. Enter Alice, a former Umbrella Corp. security officer, who spends most of her time evading and tearing apart the undead while dodging her former employers. While several characters from the video games have appeared in the films, the departure from the rich storyline of the video game universe hasn’t been met with wide acclaim. In fact, few fans of the beloved video game series are happy with it. Sure, it’s original, but not nearly the kind of story Resident Evil diehards would have wanted to see.

While Resident Evil has an interesting enough storyline, it’s not very faithful to its source material, and Underworld’s overall narrative is arguably more multifaceted. Round one goes to Selene and company.

Winner: Underworld

Underworld: 1 / Resident Evil: 0

Round 2- Monsters

Horror films should never be without a bevy of nasties to shoot at. The Underworld franchise is home to two classic monsters: Vampires and Werewolves. And when it comes to variety, there isn’t much to be found. Sure, we’ll see a transformed Vampire Elder or a souped-up Lycan every once in a while. However, these creatures of the night are mostly pretty standard fare, and tend to spend a lot of time in more attractive human form than monster mode. That said, those Lycans though, man – you wouldn’t want to be locked in a room with them.

Thanks to it being based on a video game franchise, Resident Evil brings a lot of the series’ various and unique bioweapons out to play. Alice and co. have faced several of these classic foes, aside from the standard Walking Dead. The Lickers, the dreaded Nemesis, and of course, those pesky mutated canines all make appearances, looking to make life a living hell for all survivors of the zombie apocalypse. We’ve got nothing against the vampires and werewolves of Underworld, but a little more variety in creature designs would boost its appeal.

Both franchises have plenty of badass monsters on hand, but Resident Evil’s overall diversity of said monsters gives them the edge here.

Winner: Resident Evil

Underworld: 1 / Resident Evil: 1

Round 3- Visual Style

Resident Evil has shied away a bit from the style of the video games, embracing a more colorful approach to its movies, especially after the third film. No doubt this helps them stand out from the games even more than they already do. It should be noted that, as several video game characters have appeared throughout the series, some of their signature looks have been faithfully recreated for the films. Jill Valentine’s Resident Evil 3 costume and Ada Wong’s iconic and sexy red dress from Resident Evil 4 have made welcome appearances on the silver screen.

Underworld has set itself up as a gothic, romantic action series from the get-go, embracing the darkness with open arms. Emphasis on the color black adds an intense level of creepy to the action. You may have an idea of what might pop out of those shadows, but the actual terror never ceases to make us jump out of our seats in fright. Black is a color this series has always worn well, from the dark shadows to Selene’s iconic costume – even the rivers of blood seem to have a darkened tint. Definitely the stuff of nightmares.

Although Resident Evil’s colorful style is a big plus for them on the visual side of things, Underworld’s love for pure darkness proves that less is more in this particular battle.

Winner: Underworld

Underworld: 2 / Resident Evil: 1

Round 4- Action Scenes

This is the stuff that keeps you coming back to the movies: the explosions, the raining of bullets, and the bloody and endless gore. No matter which of these two series you choose, you’re going to get plenty of that and more. In the Underworld series, we’ve seen Vampires and Lycans clash with both modern and classical weapons. While “the weapons have evolved”, as Selene says, some of the more supernatural tropes are present as well – from super-speed to some good old kung fu fisticuffs. Whatever kills faster and makes the biggest mess is preferable.

Resident Evil, on the other hand, has always gone for a more bombastic, over the top approach. When bullets fail or run out, there’s always a massive explosion or a knife that can somehow get the job done quick. And we haven’t even gotten to the psychic powers that have dominated some of the latter films. Alice’s DNA bonding with the T-Virus has produced some interesting results in battle. She can set the sky on fire or tear a hallway apart with a psychic attack – and that’s just scratching the surface. Underworld tends to keep the battles big but secretive, as per its premise. But with Resident Evil, there’s always an excuse to go as big and loud as possible.

Both franchises are never short on action, blood, fight scenes and overall badassery, but Resident Evil’s flair for the extravagant – not to mention Alice’s psychic abilities – makes this a tie game.

Winner: Resident Evil

Underworld: 2 / Resident Evil: 2

Round 5- Main Heroine

Alice and Selene are both iconic figures in this new generation of sexy, badass heroine protagonists. Alice has been fighting the good fight against the hordes of undead for a long time since Raccoon City was destroyed. You could almost say her bond with this fight runs deep within her blood… you know, ‘cause she has the T-Virus in her system. Rather than make her an ugly, misshapen husk, the T-Virus grants Alice amazing powers, from increased agility and strength to some unexpected psychic abilities. Plus, she has a sweet wardrobe for the end of the world.

Much like Alice, Selene has been fighting her own war for centuries, with all the perks of being a Vampire: speed, strength, deadly combat skills and the ability to look incredible in leather. Over the course of the films, Selene has fought both the Lycans and her own kind, and she’s quite good at taking care of both. There is time dedicated to getting to know Selene herself, exploring her history beyond the monster slaying. This extra bit of backstory gives her an edge here against Alice, who we don’t really know that much about, even after several movies. The Death Dealing beauty delivers the killing blow in this showdown.

Winner: Underworld

Underworld: 3 / Resident Evil: 2

There you have it, folks. With ammo to spare, Underworld emerges victorious from this little duel. Resident Evil may have the boom and monster variety going for it, but Underworld’s dedication to building its lore, atmosphere and that Death Dealing Goddess known as Selene gave it the sharper edge needed to pull out the win. Not the outcome you expected? Which franchise do you think stands tall over the other? For more action-packed videos published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.