FILM: Underworld
CITY: Budapest

UNDERWORLD: I am sure that many of you will be sitting there wondering why out of all the movies that have been filmed in Budapest I picked Underworld (and its sequel UNDERWORLD EVOLUTION). It’s actually quite simple, how many of those other movies have Kate Beckinsale in? Not many. How many of those other films have Kate Beckinsale wearing rubber? Even less and finally how many of those films have Kate Beckinsale wearing rubber and playing a vampire? Exactly! (Do I need to remind you again about my lack of a love life?).

The main reason that I really picked Underworld is because of the gothic city that they have created as the setting for the films. It looks a bit like London would have done in the Times of Jack the Ripper and Sherlock Holmes but far darker and somehow more modern. This city is actually Budapest and the if you take a walk through the city at about 2-3am after a night of drinking you do find yourself scanning the rooftop towers and turrets for Death Dealers.

Underworld is the story of the continuing war between vampires and lycans (werewolves). The war has raged for centuries and the lycans may have discovered a way to create a lycan-vampire hybrid and gain the upper hand. The movie is beautifully shot and keeps the good and evil line very blurred providing a number of interesting plot twists that will leave you asking the question “Who really is the enemy?”.

Selene rescues Michael

The scene where Selene (Kate Beckinsale) first meets Lucien (Michael Sheen) and has to help Michael (Scott Speedman) escape culminating in a werewolf chasing car sequence is actually filmed at Gozsdu Udvar, a unique series of interconnected courtyards and buildings stretching between Kiraly and Dob streets.

Shoot Out

The opening battle between the Lycans and Vampires takes place on the Budapest Metro and although it is difficult to work out which station this is set at it does look a lot like Arpad Hid station on the M3 line. Interestingly the New York subway entrances are actually based on those in Budapest.

Gothic Metropolis

The world in which Underworld is set is actually Pest which is on the other side of the Danube River to Buda. Many of the gothic building used for exterior shots are in Buda but the streets and roof top scenes are all produced in Pest

Filed under: Budapest