Director Kurt Wimmer follows up the bonkers-but-stylish Matrix cash-in Equilibrium with another futuristic action thriller - think Aeonflux meets Underworld. Set at the end of the 21st century, the film depicts a world in which a botched biological weapons experiment has created a subclass of vampiric humans that the totalitarian government is now trying to wipe out. At least one of these mutants, Violet (Milla Jovovich), is determined not to go down without a fight. However, the plot is mainly an excuse for the Resident Evil star to wipe out a ludicrous number of baddies in a series of form-hugging costumes. Nick Chinlund hams it up dreadfully as the villain of the piece, while youngster Cameron Bright (so good in Birth) doesn't have much to do except pout as the mysterious boy that Jovovich ends up protecting. Wimmer's hyper-stylised direction aims for a manga feel but that just makes it look even more like a shoot-'em-up computer game.

In the late 21st century, a subculture of humans have emerged who have been modified genetically by a vampire-like disease, giving them enhanced speed, incredible stamina and acute intelligence. As they are set apart from "normal" and "healthy" humans, the world is pushed to the brink of worldwide civil war aimed at the destruction of the "diseased" population. In the middle of this crossed-fire is - an infected woman - Ultraviolet, who finds herself protecting a nine-year-old boy who has been marked for death by the human government as he is believed to be a threat to humans.