6 - Laws of Physics in an Animation Universe of the Dead.

What if everything we know about the world we live in, was only a part of the world we live in. Underworld released in 2003 presents a world exactly like ours as far as humans can tell, the only difference? Humans can’t tell what lurks in the darkness. The world of Underworld is pretty much exactly the same as ours except that humans are not the only type of people that exist, in the world of Underworld humans live alongside Vampires and Lycans (werewolves.) Much like many other recent films with horror elements these creatures are not the result of some supernatural myth or lore come to life, but actually the result of a virus. Any human can become either a Vampire or a Lycan via viral infection transmitted through a bite, but if someone contracts both of the viruses it will kill them, the two viruses are definitely not compatible with a deadly result. For convenience (on my part) when I’m talking about both of the types of virally infected ‘races’ (Vampires and Lycans) I will usually refer to them as “Specials”. But as interesting as all that set up and backing info about the races this paper (and its corresponding course) is about physics and not biology, so with this essay I hope to prove that in the world of Underworld these Specials are immune to physics, how this affects the specials interactions with others around them, and how this immunity affects and plays out as a major device throughout the film and how that is used.
When the movie begins your first introduction to the world is a brief history lesson in the Vampire vs. Lycan conflict followed by a visual demonstration of how exactly this world is different, you see the main character Selene jump from a great height off of a building and land safely and carelessly on the street level and continue walking as if nothing happened. This is your introduction to Vampires and the other Specials; they are in fact immune to physics. When I say immune to physics I don’t mean they never had to take the course in college while the rest of us suffered through it no, I mean that the laws of physics seem to at times not to apply to these Specials or at least they have the ability to just bend or break the different laws of physics conveniently at will for a various list of reasons.
As mentioned above the first scene of the movie the Vampiress Selene lands safely on the street after jumping off of a tall building many stories up in the sky, if the normal laws of physics affected Selene she would need to weigh less than a squirrel who has a similar ability to be unaffected from such great heights due to reaching its maximum speed of falling at a very quick rate, but even then I don’t think she would land on her feet mid stride and walk off like nothing happened.
Another example of these Vampire and Lycan’s abilities can be seen pretty much anytime they fight each other you see one or both breeds running on the walls like it’s nothing, despite the whole slew of reasons why this is something a normal human can not do. I can not imagine how it would feel a physics professor and watching a movie like this and seeing the filmmakers break all the rules and laws that make the world the way it is right in front of your eyes so constantly. A noteworthy example of this specifically is just under half an hour into the movie when Selene is trying to get the human Michael Corvin before the pack of transformed Lycans can and there’s a whole slew of werewolves running on their hands and feet on the walls and roof towards Selene (though none on the floor cause that would be too convenient?) And she is picking them off with her gun as they approach but Lycans that she picks off on the walls fall backwards actually off the walls in a beautiful arc instead of straight down like anything else holding on to a wall would once it let go as it is affected by gravity. Nope, instead they fly backwards off the walls to make it dramatic.
The strange thing about the Specials’ abilities to break the laws of physics is that as an exception to their exceptional ability they sometimes unexpectedly find themselves affected by the various rules and laws of physics. Simply put when you least expect it and when the Special should easily be able to break a law or too (as previously shown) they get hit in the face or run down suddenly.
The clearest example of this sudden reversal of what they’ve led us to believe about the specials is during a chase scene where the Lycan leader Lucian ends up on top of the car that Selene and the human Michael Corvin are riding away in and as Lucian is trying to cut his way through the roof of the car Selene slams on the breaks and Lucian rolls forward off the front of the car exactly as a normal human would, at which time the viewer may actually be surprised that for whatever reason he actually fell off of a speeding car exactly as he should have! If that wasn’t enough, as Lucian gets up Selene hits the gas and speeds towards him and although he turns around with plenty of time to notice the car speeding at him he gets hit by the car and convincingly rolls once again across the top until he catches himself mid-air and gracefully lands on the ground while Selene and Michael speed off into the distance. Why would Lucian get hit in the first place? He has plenty of time to jump out of the way or react in some way at least but he just stares and gets hit by the car letting them escape. Seeing how obtaining Michael is Lucian’s goal for the entire plot of the movie I really doubt he just let them drive off on purpose and even so why would he get hit by the car first? It’s something that obviously hurts him. Which brings me to my theory on the subject: that the Specials have to actively be aware that they’re breaking the laws of physics and it’s not something that they do instinctually or naturally but a conscious effort on their part. This seems to be the only logical way to explain these sudden lapses in ability on the Special’s part.
Another observation I made about this particular scene is that Lucian is not in his transformed ‘werewolf’ state when he rolls off the car twice making me think that the specials have a stronger ability to break these laws of physics when in their transformed state (i.e. when they’re more aware that they can break the laws)
So maybe the whole breaking the laws of physics thing is a fluke, an accident done by a director with no idea what he’s talking about. How do we know that these are conscious decisions made within the film? Where’s your faith? There’s a reason behind everything in a movie, it’s there for a reason. Going back to the first scene I’ve mentioned, why is it so important for you to see Selene break the laws of physics in the very first scene you are introduced to? The reason is to visually show you that Selene (and all the other Specials) may look like normal humans at first glance but they are vastly different. The use of the Specials’ ability to break the laws of physics is used as a clever device throughout the film for quite a few different methods.
Another way it is used not only in this film but in pretty much most Hollywood action films that were released after the film The Matrix is to use a character’s ability to break the laws of physics to give them a super feel with out making it seem too outrageous. It also adds to and intensifies the action of the scene, by having a character run up the walls it seems more fantastic and amazing than a normal fight scene.
Also within the movie Underworld the Specials’ ability to defy physics is used a way to show the relationship between Humans and Specials, basically being the absolute proof that a human would have no chance in a fight with a Lycan or Vampire and likewise magnifying the intensity of a fight between the breeds as something no human could even dream to touch.
The film Underworld presents a world much like our own with all the physics and characteristics we’ve grown to know (and study) but as an added element the film introduces its Specials’ who are at least marginally immune to the rules and laws of physics of the world. Hopefully I have proven that the Vampires and Lycans portrayed in this film can do many fantastical things that we average humans can’t, that they are aware of the abilities they possess and how the film uses this ability as a mechanism in the film for much purpose. Next time you think about the scary creature lurking in your closet I’d be less worried about his fangs and more about his immunity to gravity!